Gabriele Bitelli

University of Bologna | UNIBO · Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering DICAM

Cultural heritage encompasses both tangible and intangible aspects for each of us, and efforts must be made to safeguard this legacy for future generations. Unfortunately, in addition to natural and environmental degradation, human activities pose a significant threat to the integrity of historical sites. Monuments and architecture have frequently...

In this paper, we propose a comprehensive and optimised workflow for the documentation and the future maintenance and management of a historical building, integrating the state of the art of different techniques, in the challenging context of industrial archaeology. This approach has been applied to the hydraulic work of the “Sostegno del Battiferr...

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the introduction of a water safety plan (WSP) approach on drinking water, in all types of settings. This study represents the first WSP developed on the Neptune Fountain, in Bologna (Italy), based on an interdisciplinary approach, integrating hydraulic and microbiological features, in a Building Inform...

The recent launch of Landsat-9 satellite enriches the opportunities to work with dense time series of multispectral medium-resolution images. The integration of Landsat-9 in a multi-constellation series with Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 requires a harmonization of the surface reflectance values that can be obtained from the official Level-2 products. T...

Classifying crops using satellite data is a challenge, especially since most crops have similar growth cycles. Due to their different characteristics and chlorophyll content, different crops exhibit subtle differences in their reflectance spectra. This study uses a data-driven approach to build a series of deep learning models to classify 36 differ...

In the perspective of long and dense time-series analyses for environmental monitoring applications, this paper discusses a cross-comparison analysis between the different instruments of Landsat and Sentinel Missions (TM, ETM+, OLI and MSI). The level-2 Surface Reflectance products were considered (in particular the reprocessed Collection-2 for Lan...

The advent of the metaverse, a large-scale three-dimensional networked virtual environment that combines physical and digital world, has opened new avenues for preserving and experiencing cultural heritage (CH). By integrating technologies such as 3D reconstruction and modelling with virtual reality (VR), the metaverse offers new opportunities to s...

Our goal was to obtain the digital twin of the temporary exhibition "The Other Renaissance: Ulisse Aldrovandi and the Wonders of the World", to make it accessible online to users using various devices (from smartphones to VR headsets). We started with a preliminary assessment of the exhibition, focussing on possible acquisition constraints - time,...

The archaeological site of Tiwanaku is among the most important examples of Bolivian archaeology and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. This works reports a geomatic-based surveying and modelling methodology applied to a ritual receptacle excavated from the semi-subterranean temple in the archaeological complex. A high-resolution 3D survey was...

Global warming and changes in Earth’s weather patterns are the main consequences of climate change, and bioclimate discomfort has significant public health problems, especially for the elderly. Normally, the thermal characteristics of urban areas are poor due to a phenomenon known as urban heat island. Mobile and fixed temperature measurements were...

Surface texture of a road pavement is recognized as one of the most relevant parameters in driving safety. Spillages on the highway can lead to dangerous conditions for road users and cause damage to the road surface. Hazardous substance spills caused by traffic accidents threaten the safety road and request a specific clearance operation to reduce...

Moisture is one of the main problems that affect new and historic masonry buildings, which are the most common ones in Europe and worldwide. The application of surface treatments based on water-repellents is a very common solution to protect masonry from rain and hence from moisture-related problems. However, there are very few studies on the monit...

Thanks to the development of technologies for digitalization, new possibilities of management and valorization of Cultural Heritage have been opened. These issues are addressed by the project IDEHA (Innovation for Data Elaboration in Heritage Areas), funded by MIUR Italian Ministry, for Italian assets of historical interest. Among the different cas...

The recent improvement of infrared image quality has increased the use of thermography as a non-destructive diagnostic technique. Amongst other applications, thermography can be used to monitor historic buildings. The present work was carried out within the framework of the Horizon 2020 European project SHELTER, which aims to create a management pl...

In this paper some experiences in 3D modelling of objects with very high-resolution are described, carried out by the DICAM Geomatics group of the University of Bologna in multi-disciplinary contexts within the field of the Civil Engineering. In all the addressed case studies the main aim is the generation of a 3D model of the surface at a sub-mill...

This paper describes the experience carried out by the Geomatics group of the DICAM Dept. (Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering) of the University of Bologna, in collaboration with the Civic Medieval Museum, about the digitization and reproduction by 3D printing of the bas-relief of Giovanni da Legnano. This artwor...

The paper provides an overview on Big-DEA, a multidisciplinary project aimed at developing a comprehensive multi-level explanatory model for the development of an archaic State in the ancient Near East, using the exceptional case of Tell Mardikh, ancient Ebla (Syria), during the second half of the 3 rd millennium. The project’s goal is the reconstr...

A microclimate classification of the entire Bologna Municipality has been carried out in order to give a tool to the local administration in the drafting of the General Urbanistic Plan (PUG). The city was classified considering the variation of air temperature as a function of the surface characteristics, the vegetation fraction, the building densi...

Over the last decades, climate change has brought more and more challenges to managers of cultural heritage and researchers. The increasing effects of natural hazards on assets have required the development of a new protocol of techniques and methodologies for the monitoring of Cultural Heritage and the adoption of management plans adapted to the n...

The exponential growth in the volume of Earth observation data and the increasing quality and availability of high-resolution imagery are increasingly making more applications possible in urban environments [...]

In the project, carried out by the Geomatics group of the DICAM Department from the University of Bologna, it is discussed the integration of different sensors as an application to the field of Cultural Heritage. The fresco painting examined dates back to the beginning of the XVII century, it is found in the San Martino theatre hall, in the city ce...

Endoscopy represents a commonly employed technique for canine enteropathies. Different trials in human intestinal endoscopy have suggested that the introduction of water for luminal distension, in place of air, improves the visualization of the mucosal texture and decreases pain. The aim of the study was to compare water immersion (WI) vs. air insu...

Historical cartography, as a fundamental part of Cultural Heritage, constitutes a precious asset, not only to be safeguarded, but also to be used to study the evolution of the territory over time. In this perspective, regeneration of ancient cartography in digital represents an interesting way to allow new chances of using its historic and geograph...

This paper presents two examples of use of amateur video sequences for the 3D modelling of objects in Archaeology. The described case studies refer to the important archaeological sites of Cahuachi (Peru) and Tiwanaku (Bolivia), where the DICAM Dept. of the University of Bologna operated in past years with a surveying activity that involved the app...

Among the applications of Remote Sensing for urban environments, Thermal Mapping is currently one of the most interesting, although still quite limited in usage. Airborne, drone and satellite thermal imagery can in fact provide effective data for different purposes and at different scales. The peculiar characteristics of thermal images, on the othe...

The construction of dams is an ever-growing threat to cultural heritage, particularly in an age of climate change and narrowly focused development policies. In analyzing as a case study three major reservoirs in the Middle Euphrates river valley in southeastern Turkey (Atatürk, Birecik and Karkamış), we developed a Post-Flooding Damage Assessment (...

The construction of dams and their impact on cultural heritage are an ever-expanding problem, the more so in times of climate change and narrowly focused development policies. We analyze here a case study represented by three major reservoirs in the Middle Euphrates valley in southeastern Turkey (Atatürk, Birecik and Karkamış). We applied Post-Floo...

In the field of Cultural Heritage, the availability of a complete, detailed and photo-realistic 3D model of the objects of interest permits to describe all the aspects related to geometry, colours and materials, as well as the work techniques and the decay state. Besides, it offers multiple possibilities for the documentation, the analysis and the...

This paper shows an application of image-based 3D modelling concerning an interesting case study in the field of Cultural Heritage, a safe located in the Obellio Firmo domus in Pompeii (Italy), one of the largest and most complex houses in the ancient city. The object was strongly deformed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and is currently pro...

The monumental complex of Santo Stefano in Bologna preserves one of the most precious testimonies of the Lombard presence in the city, the so-called "Basin of Pilato", whose epigraph - dated to the Thirties of the VIII AD.- runs under the lip of the basin and has been the subject of centuries-old studies by historians. The conservative restoration...

The paper presents some of the surveying experiences, mainly at territorial scale, performed by the authors at the site of Tilmen Höyük, in collaboration with archaeologists and researchers from other fields. Satellite imagery, multi-scale digital Photogrammetry and Space Geodesy, integrated together, allowed a modern approach to the representation...

The analysis of the vertical movements of the soil in the Po River plane of the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) was updated through an interferometric analysis referred to the 2011–2016 time-span. This activity is a continuation of previous studies on the state of knowledge of vertical soil movements in the same area, analyzed firstly by levelling an...

The opportunities of retrieving geospatial datasets as open data and the reliability of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) GIS increased the possibilities of performing a large number of geospatial analyses. In particular, the worldwide availability of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) permits to compute several topographic indexes able to characteri...

Today, Geomatics science can provide modern techniques of acquisition, visualization, measurement and data management, useful for preservation, documentation and analysis of Cultural Heritage, in all its variety. Very interesting is the case for which both the project documentation of an object and the object itself are Cultural Heritage. A perfect...

Detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of heritage objects is crucial for different purposes, such as analysis, preservation and maintenance, among others. Geomatics techniques allow acquiring complex and comprehensive information about geometry and current conditions of the surveyed objects in a short time, which is a great advantage for docume...

In 2016, the Municipality of Bologna (Italy) has undertaken the restoration of one of the symbols of the entire city, the Fountain of Neptune, in evident state of degradation. The works have touched upon all the aspects of this complex object and the project has seen involved the Municipality and the University of Bologna, the Istituto Superiore pe...

GAMHer (Geomatics data Acquisition and Management for landscape and built Heritage in a European perspective) is a three-year research project financed under the Italian PRIN 2015 framework (Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale). The project, started in February 2017 under the University of Bologna coordination, links other 5 Italia...

The full release and circulation of excavation results often takes decades, thus slowing down progress in archaeology to a degree not in keeping with other scientific fields. The nonconformity of released data for digital processing also requires vast and costly data input and adaptation. Archaeology should face the cognitive challenges posed by di...

This paper presents some considerations and experiences about the use of geomatic techniques in surveying and representing small archaeological artifacts, such as cuneiform tablets and other inscribed objects with cuneiform writing. Scanning by hand-guided structured light scanner and image processing on the 3D models permits a wider range of possi...

The new geomatic techniques and technologies for surveying an archeological excavation are not limited to obtaining more accurate data or more precisely geo-referenced positions on a map, as they can lead to new approaches and, indeed, raise the concept of different dimensions relating to the handled information. The techniques on offer are now ful...

Nowadays, a growing necessity for preservation and documentation of the Cultural Heritage is related to the precise 3D surveys as the input for multidisciplinary analysis. An efficient tool that meets the aforementioned requirement is the HBIM approach, linked to numerical models for structural analysis. In this context, the innovative CLOUD2FEM pr...

Terrestrial remote sensing techniques, including both Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Close-Range Photogrammetry (CRP), have been recently used in multiple applications and projects with particular reference to the documentation/inspection of a wide variety of Cultural Heritage structures. The high density of TLS point cloud data allows to per...

3D city models are becoming increasingly popular and important, because they constitute the base for all the visualization, planning, management operations regarding the urban infrastructure. These data are however not available in the majority of cities: in this paper, the possibility to use geospatial data of various kinds with the aim to generat...

With the arrival on the market of high-precision topographic total stations, professionals today, using appropriate methodologies, can determine altimetric connections to an accuracy that is almost comparable to those obtainable using high-precision geometric levelling. This aspect is of particular interest when it is not possible to proceed with c...

In this work, two processes related to the onset and the evolution of large-scale rockfalls have been analysed by means of remote sensing techniques. First, the number of rock bridges as a proportion of pre-existing fractures has been estimated in a newly formed landslide scarp by analysing the spectral information of the rock mass in terrestrial l...

During the last years, remote sensing data along with GIS have been largely employed for supporting emergency management activities. In this context, the use of satellite images and derived map products has become more common also in the different phases of humanitarian crisis response. In this work very high resolution satellite imagery was proce...

The research activities described in this contribution were carried out at San Leo (Italy). The town is located on the top of a quadrangular rock slab affected by a complex system of fractures and has a wealth of cultural heritage, as evidenced by the UNESCO’s nomination. The management of this fragile set requires a comprehensive system of geomet...

GAMHer is a collaborative project that aims at exploiting and validating Geomatics algorithms, methodologies and procedures in the framework of new European regulations, which require a more extensive and productive use of digital information, as requested by the Digital Agenda for Europe as one of the seven pillars of the Europe 2020 Strategy. To...

The derivation of surface temperature from thermal images requires a proper modelling of the spectral characteristics of the observed surfaces, in particular emissivity. Several possible approaches have been developed in literature. A first category of methods relies on the availability of multiple bands in the thermal region, while a second family...

The modern Geomatics techniques, such as Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and multi-view Structure from Motion (SfM), are gaining more and more interest in the Cultural Heritage field. All the data acquired with these technologies could be stored and managed together with other information in a Historical Building Information Model (HBIM). In this...

The current dramatic episodes of destruction of archaeological sites have again highlighted the problem of the safeguarding the threatened heritage and, if possible, recovering those damaged by all the armed conflicts of the past. The historical photogrammetry offers the possibility to recover a posteriori the geometrical and material properties o...

The paper presents a combination of two unsupervised techniques for change detection studies in arid and semi-arid areas. Among Remote Sensing change detection techniques, unsupervised approaches have the advantage of promptly producing a map of the change between two dates, but often the interpretation of the results is not straightforward, and re...

In 2015 the Department of History and Cultures of the Bologna University took part in the Grande Progetto Pompei – Piano della Conoscenza, with the task of providing a modern and complete documentation of the so-called Lotto 3 in Pompeii. The new survey was carried out by means of integrated innovative diagnostic survey techniques in order to provi...

The availability of new generation multispectral sensors of the Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 satellite platforms offers unprecedented opportunities for long-term high-frequency monitoring applications. The present letter aims at highlighting some potentials and challenges deriving from the spectral and spatial characteristics of the two instruments. So...

Various regions in Europe have suffered from severe flooding over the last decades. Flood disasters often have a broad extent and a high frequency. They are considered the most devastating natural hazards because of the tremendous fatalities, injuries, property damages, economic and social disruption that they cause. In this context, Earth Observat...

Sensitive areas like oases are threatened by climatic variations and human activities that can catalyze desertification processes. Remote sensing the Earth surface from satellites is a good tool to monitor such types of change through several techniques. In this paper a remote sensing method that has been widely used for vegetated areas is adapted...

This work focuses on the exploitation of very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery coupled with multi-criteria analysis (MCA) to produce flood hazard maps. The methodology was tested over a portion of the Yialias river watershed basin (Nicosia, Cyprus). The MCA methodology was performed selecting five flood-conditioning factors: slope, distance...

EN 12697-11 is the standard providing test methods for evaluating affinity between aggregate and bitumen and its influence on the susceptibility of the mixture to stripping. Among the methods, the rolling bottle test has a number of advantages in terms of rapidity, low costs, and suitability for routine testing. However, since affinity is assessed...

Regeneration of cartographic heritage in a digital form offers a new opportunity of preserving and studying historical cartography. Modern digital techniques coming from Geomatics science help in metric analysis of ancient maps and, when integrated with the contribution from other disciplines, can allow specific studies otherwise unachievable. The...

The present study aims to demonstrate the usefulness of GIS to support archive searches and historical studies (e.g. related to industrial archaeology), in the case of an ancient channel for mill powering near Cesena (Emilia-Romagna, Italy), whose history is weaved together with the history of the Compagnia dei Molini di Cesena mill company, the mo...

In the context of cultural heritage, an accurate and comprehensive digital survey of a historical building is today essential in order to measure its geometry in detail for documentation or restoration purposes, for supporting special studies regarding materials and constructive characteristics, and finally for structural analysis. Some proven geom...

In the context of cultural heritage, an accurate and comprehensive digital survey of a historical building is today essential in order to measure its geometry in detail for documentation or restoration purposes, for supporting special studies regarding materials and constructive characteristics, and finally for structural analysis. Some proven geom...

The present study aims to demonstrate the usefulness of GIS to support archive searches and historical studies (e.g. related to industrial archaeology), in the case of an ancient channel for mill powering near Cesena (Emilia-Romagna, Italy), whose history is weaved together with the history of the Compagnia dei Molini di Cesena mill company, the mo...

The numerical modeling of historical monumental buildings is a challenging task for contemporary civil engineers. One of the main reasons for this is that the use of traditional simplified structural schemes is inadequate due to the complex geometry of such historical structures. Therefore, it is necessary to resort to a fully 3D modeling technique...

Landslides of the lateral spreading type, involving brittle geological units overlying ductile terrains, are a common occurrence in the sandstone and limestone plateaux of the northern Apennines of Italy. The edges of these plateaux are often the location of rapid landslide phenomena, such as rock slides, rock falls and topples. In this paper, we p...

Several geomatics techniques were applied and integrated for the ceremonial center of Cahuachi and the Nasca territory, including GNSS surveys, digital-elevation-model generation from satellite imagery, and close-range photogrammetry . Accurate 3D models of the landscape in which the archaeological site is set and, at different scale, of structures...

The recent decades have seen a significant evolution of the methodologies and techniques for the monitoring of subsidence on a regional scale: from the traditional levelling technique to GNSS and finally to SAR interferometry. The case study of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is a prime example of this evolution. As known, the Emilia-Romagna plain is subje...