Starting the CENOBIUM project : the cloister of Monreale (Sicily) revealed

The paper presents the guidelines of the CENOBIUM project and the first results on the capitals of the cloister of Monreale (Sicily). The CENOBIUM project aims at demonstrating the strength of the integration of modern representation and analysis technologies in the context of the knowledge, documentation and fruition of 3D cultural heritage. The wonderful capitals of the cloister of Monreale are the case study of our project. In fact, most of the capitals represent episodes of the Holy Bible and they can be completely appreciated, studied and documented merely by integrating 2D and 3D technologies. The paper describes the different acquisition and documentation modalities adopted in the project: high resolution digital imaging, short range 3D laser scanning for the capitals, long range 3D laser scanning for the cloister, panoramic views, integration of the geometry of the capitals with the high resolution color images. Moreover, it outlines the main components of the system which will allow the user to virtually move inside the cloister, to choose a particular capital, and to analyze and study the 2D, 3D and text information related to it. By means of innovative technological solutions, all the information, at the highest level of detail and resolution, will be available locally, on a kiosk installation, and on the web.