'Siracusa 3d reborn': An ancient Greek city brought back to life

NTUA Univers ity Athe ns le CNR - Institute ofChemical Methodol ogies Assoc iation Investing in Culture s" International Congress on "Science and Technology for the Safeguard of Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean Basin" PROCEEDINGS VOL. III - Sessions D/ E/ F Museums; Cultural identity; Sustainable development CONGRESS CULTURAL HERITAGE SckHiçe & 8Chhelo Athens, Greece 22 - 25 October 2013 © Ed itore VALMAR - Roma Printed by Centro Copie l'I stantan ea, Roma, 20 14 ISBN 978-88-97987-05-5 Publish ing coordination, revision and realization: Ange lo Ferrari - CNR, Inst. of Chem ical Methodologies, Italy ; Digitai Edit ing and Data Processing: Stefano Tar diola and Gia nni Pingue - CN R, Inst. of Chemica l Methodologies, Italy; Sec retariat: Enza Sirugo - CNR, Inst. of Chemical Meth odologies, Italy; Manu ela Man fredi , A.I. e. Secretar iat, Italy. SESSION E - C ultura l I leri tage Identi ty 'SIRACUSA 3D REBORN'. AN ANCIENT GREEK CITY BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE Gabellone Francesco', Tanasi DavideZ, Ferrari lvan' I Ist ituto per i Bcni Archeo logici c Mon urnent a li (C N R), Lecce, ltaly, r.gabcllonc@ iba m.cnr.it, itlab.rcrrar i@ ibam.cnr.it; 2Arcadia Univcrsity, Th c Co llege 01" Global Stud ies, Sirac usa, ltaly, tanasid @arcadia.cd u Keywords: virtua l archacology; archaco logical 3D modcIi ng; rcc on structivc ana lysis; Greek arc hitccturc. Abst ract This papc r c lucidatcs a virtual archaco logy project, undcrtak cn by a tca m o r scholars or thc IBA M-CN R and Thc Arcadia Univc rsity - TCGS, aimcd to thc digitai reco nst ruct ion o r O rtigia, thc core d istric t or thc Grcck Syracusc . Thc mai n goal or this cxcrcisc has bcc n thc prod uct ion or thc 3D documcntary 'Sirac usa 3D reb orn ' . that rc prcscn ts an origi nai adva ncc in thc know lcdgc or thc Grcck backgrou nd or thc city. In this pcrspcctive, wc havc choscn to prod uce ' passive ' tools cmbcd dcd with co mmu nicat ional and cmotiona l co mponcnts did not aflccted thc scic ntific accuracy with wh ich thc rcconstruct ivc proccss has bccn carricd ouL Thc rcforc, thc visi tor can Icarn thosc pcc ulia r architcctural and urba n feat urcs or thc Grcck city, without d isrcgardi ng thosc charactcrs who playcd 'kcy rol cs' in thc dilTusion or Grcck culture in thc Medi terra ncan. Ma in mon um cnt s or O rtig ia arc dcscri bcd and analyzcd in thc contcxt or a full 3D stc rcoscopic rep resent at ion cmploying techn iques 01" modcrn cine ma industry l'or exp laining its historical and archaco log ica l characteristics. Emphasis is a lso givc n to recon struction or war mach incs and so me uniquc invcntion s co ncc ivcd by Arc hirncdcs , the most brilliant mi nd or Gree k era . The rcconstructivc wor kflow fol lowcd a mcticulous met hodo logical pian, bascd on thc publishcd data and aimc d to dc finc a prcviously unavai lab lc topographic profil o 01" thc city , portraycd in two mai n chrono log ica l phascs, Archaic and Late Classical. Alter this init ial momcnt 01" rcscarch and histor ical intcrprctation or thc ancicnt con tcxt, a story board wi th an intcn tio nal didactic narrative has been arranged l'or rcprcscnti ng thc diac hro nic developmcnt or urban tran sform ations togethcr with mai n cvcnts that markcd the history or the city . Thc stc rcoscopi c produ ction has a llowc d us to dcvc lop an clficicn t system for thc tracki ng o r thc scenes along xyz axes, thc com positing or ncstcd sccncs and pos tcffects whic h prov idcs co lor gradi ng, and part iclc cffccts, INTRODUCTION The ignorance or the mis-knowledge of the archaeo log ical background of a modern city can negatively affec t its eco nomy and cultural gro wth, limiting attrac tiv ity and spreading erroneo us or distorted messages ove r med ia. The case of Syrac use can be considered the prototype of a city with a splendid ancient Greek background , largely neglected by current internati onal tourists and tho roughl y know n j ust to few specia lists ofGreek arc haeo logy and history. Founded by the Cor inthians in 733 BC and conquered by the Romans in 212 BC, ove r centuries it became one of the most beautiful, in fluentia l and wea lthy amo ng the Gree k cities of the Mediterranean basin I . Several prom inent poets and philosoph ers who greatly contrib uted to the fortun e of Gree k culture abroad as Sappho, Simonides, Bacchyl ides, Pindar, Aesc hylus and Plato visited Syrac use 220 SESSION E - Cultural Hcritagc Idcntity and lived there part s 01' their lives. The city itsel f was the birthplace 01' many thinkers as Ep icha rrnus, So phron, Philistus, Theoc ritus and - above a li Archimedes the work 01' which is a co rne rstone 01' Gree k thou ght [I ]. The majesty 01' temples, the magn ificence 01' public and spectacle buil din gs, the robustness 01' forti fication s, the tech nica l level 01' naval eng inee ring and the masterp ieces 01' sculpture, architect ure and pa inting produced in the wo rkshops we re once the tangible sig ns of the supre macy 01' Gree k Syrac use [2]. Nonetheless, rega rd less the histori cal backgrou nd and the impo sing visible rema ins 01' the Gree k co lony emerging everywhere in the act ual urban area, Syracuse whose histori cal city ce nter, Ort igia, has been UNESCO World Herit age site since 2005 [3] has never played the role 01' quin tessen tial arche typ e 01' Gree k city in the main stream . Back to the case 01' Syracuse, reason s 01' th is bias com e l'rom the fact that the majorit y 01' monument s 01' Greek city were uncovered betw een the end 01' 19th and the beginn ing 01' 20th ce ntury, due to the work 01' Paolo Orsi, a founding figure 01' Sicilian archaeo logy, and publ ished in Italian langu age accord ing to the narr ativ e sty le and concept of the past of that period [4]. O r they were discov ered in the last few decades during rescu e ex ca vatio ns the result s 01' wh ich we re j ust preliminary announce d [5], publ ished in scie nt itic reports oriented to spec ialists [6] il' not totally unpubli shed. The lack 01' prop er inform at ive panels and installation s by the monument s and the abse nce 01' a ma in we b portai l'or the cultura l herit age 01' Sirac usa, that leaves the field ope n to a mult itude 01' d isinform ati ve we bsi tes , co ntributes to neglec t the role 01' Gree k Siracusa in the mainstream . Furtherrnore, the Greek heri tage see ms to be und erestimated somehow eve n among the local com munity . On the othe r side, the absence in recent times 01' intern at ional sc ienti fic eve nts aimed to prom ote the Greek art and arc haeo logy of the city diverts se veral foreig n scho lars who keep thinking that everything have bee n alrea dy d iscovered, studied and publi shed ma ny decades ago. This apparent wea k appea l over the local co mm unity together w ith the part ial and insu fficient co mmunication 01' the res ults and dissem ination 01' knowledge have blocked both furthe r touristic policies and new sc ientific researches. It eme rges c1early l'rom th is frame that the co mmunication meth ods 01' Syracuse 's past has co nd itioned the impact on the public eye 01' the splend id Greek heritage 01' the city, co nsequently lim iting eve ntua l and potenti al eco nomie developments. RESULTS Aga inst thi s sce nar io a prop er action 01' revi sioni sm over a li the medi a should be undertake l'o r restorin g and improving the communication ofthis negle cted part 01' Syracuse's in orde r to restitute to th is once splend id archety pe 01' Greek culture the deserved ro le in the intem at ion al main stream . A so lution to th is long sta nd ing issue has been provided by the rec ent adv anc es in the field ofv irtua l archaeology, a discipline aime d to ' bring back the past' thr ough the met icul ous and sc ient ific 3D reco nstruction 01' ancie nt env iro nments breakin g langu age barri ers and cultura l limits via visua l messages. A virtua l archaeo logy proj ect about Greek Syracuse, has bee n undertaken by a team 01' scho lars 01' the Inform ation Techno logy Laboratory 01' the Istituto per i Ben i Archeo log ici e Monum ent ali - Co nsig lio Naz iona le de lle Ricerche [7] and The Arcad ia Un ivers ity - T he Co llege 01' G loba l Studies (Siracusa ca mpus) [8]. Its aim has been the overall digitai reco nstruction 01' Ort igia, the co re district 01' the Greek Syracuse, l'or the produ ct ion 01' the 3D docum entary ' Siracusa 3D rebom' that since May 20 13 is regul arly on screen in a 3 D theater located in the 22 1 SESSION E - Cultural l Icritagc ldcn tity historical center of Syrac use that is the only visual informative source about the Greek city both l'or tourists and scho lars. In this pape r the entire project pipeline will not be presented and thoro ughly discussed due to page limits. Instead it has been preferred to emphas ize the potential use that ca n be done or the docum entary l'or increasing the awa reness among local people, enhancing tou ristic attrac tion policies and supporting scho lars in the test of their hypotheses or historical and archaeo logica l reconstructions. Theoretical ap proac hes, reconstructive cr itica lities and techn ical aspects wi ll be stresse d elsewhere. Since an ove rall work about archaeo logy o r Greek Ort igia did not exis t, the first step of th is project consisted or the data co llection or ali the publi cation abo ut s ingle monu ments or excavations carried out since the end or the 19th cen tury. Old and new data were reinterpreted and compared with the avai lable hypotheses abo ut the urban developm ent, s iding the more reaso nable interp retation and trying to go beyond acade mic dispu tes. At the same time a mult itude of gra phic data, plans, top views, sect ion views, elevation views and architect ura l reconstru ctive studies, mainly present in the older scientific production, were retrieved and co rrected wit h the recent adva nces in the field or researc h on Greek architecture and sculpture. Following the recommendations and the statements or the Princip les of Sev ille and the Londo n Cha rter, this reconstructive process proceeds by means of a sys tematic study whic h is as ' transparenr' and intelligible as possible. In part icular, this charter declares that methods or ana lysis, surveyi ng techn iques and interpr etations must ali be c1ear, com prehensible and reusab le. Only analyses of the prelim inary data can validate outco mes or a reconstructive study and ensure that new ge nerations are ab le to revise results without necessarily sta rting l'rom scratch. Scientific transparency is thus the main ind ispensable premise that ' meas ures' quality and scientific rigor or eac h application and study base d on virtual archaeo logy. Fil:. l , Digitai rccnactrncnt of a dail y life in thc rnarkct by thc acropolis. Meticulous histor ical researches and direct analys is Or ancie nt sources provided the historical sce nario l'or sett ing the story board of a multi -Ianguage docum entary. Being this project a pioneerin g too l l'or comm unicating the ancient Greek heritage or Ort igia to local people and foreign visitors, narrati ve criteria have been crucial. Acco rding to cultura l touri sm tendencies in Europe, people accessing key cultural attractio ns - as UNESCO world heritage s ites - are ge nera lly in the higher levels of scho larization [9] . Furthermore, interne t, TV, cinema and eve n videogames have contributed to accustom the public to a very technica l languages for 222 SESSION E - C ultural Ileritage Identit y historical contents. In this perspective, it has been decided to avoid simplifications and to keep a certain high technicallanguage entrusting the power ofvisualization for contextualizing historical events and monuments. Fig. 2. 3D isometric cross-section ofthe tempie of Apollo (6,h century He"'). A 2,500 words text has been arranged covering the history of the core part of the Greek colon y of Syracuse, Ortigia, from the foundation in 733 BC to the tim e when Archimedes defended the city during the Roman siege, in 231-212 Be. The narrative has been divided in two blocks representing the two main archaeological phases in the urban and monumental development of Orti gia , 7th-5th centuries BC and 4th-3rd centuries [IO]. First , the monumental development of Ortigia is iIlustrated through its main steps: the design of road network and block s of houses, the con struction of earliest cult buildings temples and public area s (Fig. I) as the tempi e of Apollo (Fig. 2), and the temples or Artemis and Athena on the acropolis ( Fig. 3), ali chronologically relat ed to Archaic and early Classical period o Fig.3. Acrial view of the acropolis ofOrtig ia in the Slh ccntury BC, with Dorie tempie 01'Athcna (lcfì) and the lon ie tempi e or Artcrnis (righI). 223 SESS ION E - Cultural Ileritage ldcntity Then, the drastic tran sforrnation of the city, during the Classical and Hellenistic phases is elucidated, showi ng the progressive destruction of entire blocks and the construction of fortification walls, gates, barracks, dockyard s and military installations. F i~ . 4:Detail or thc virt ual modcl or the revolving doors o r the temp ie or Athena according to the descri ption or ane ient so urccs . Particular emphasis has been given to the recreation of ancient artifacts known j ust from descriptions provided by ancient sources, as the sp lendid revo lving doors of the tempi e of Athena (F ig. 4), and to the animation of digitai characters as the Corinthian colonists who sailed towa rds Ortigia for foundin g Syrac use (Fig. 5). An emphas is was also g iven to the recreation of siege machines and devices designed by Archim edes and above ali to the reconstruction of the 'Syrakosia ' , the co lossa l wars hip he designed and produced for the king I-lieron Il , represe nting a unique masterpiece in ancie nt nava l engineering [ I I l. A large use of ancient sources helped to increase the dramat ic effect of the narrative. Once the 2D set of data related to each monument has been prepared and the story board has been completed the 3D modeling and production phase started out. A lthough the primary goa l of this project was to bridge a communication gap abo ut the Greek background of Syracuse, and the expectations of the commissioning company were mainly oriented toward the production of a ' touristic attraction', the meticul ousness in the archaeo logical and historical analys is made the final product significantly helpful for the scholars. The short produ ction time of this easy learning documentary, dramatic and engaging at the same time, blendin g history and archaeo logy with modern computer animation techniques, deep ly conditioned the productive pipeline. It in fact caused the simp lification of many necessary processes during the design phase and the e limination of severaI others. No animatic for the contro l of complex movements nor detailed storyboard for scene deve lopment were used. The entire production has bee n estab lished on a simple narrative based on illustrat ive texts and it is aimed to visually clarify throu gh images and reconstructi ons those historical and archaeo logical contexts relevant for the understandin g of features of the Greek city. Obviously, this approa ch brought to a more educationa l than narrative movie. However, the choice of providing ' pass ive' cognitive tools with a remarkable illustrative component has not diminished the emotiona l and communicational aspects ex pected by the com missioning compan y. 224 SESSION E - Cullural Ilcritagc Idcntity Main monuments of Ortigia are described and analyzed in the context of a full 3D stereoscopic representation employing techniques of modem cinema industry for elucidating and explaining its historical and archaeological characteristics. Fig. S. Digitai rccnactmcnt or thc arrivai or Corinthian colonists at Ortigia, for thc loundation or Syracusc. Therefore, the visitor can leam those peculiar architectural and urban features of the Greek city, without disregarding those characters who played 'key roles' in the diffusion of Greek culture in the Mediterranean. Emphasis is also given to reconstructions of war machines and unique inventions designed by Archimedes, thc most brilliant mind of Greek era. The reconstructive workflow followed a mcticulous methodological pIan based on the published data and aimed to define a previously unavailable topographic profile of the city, portrayed in two main chronological phases , Archaic and Late Classical. After this initial moment of research and historical interpretation of the ancient context, a storyboard with an intentional didactic narrative has been arranged for representing the diachronic development of urban transformations together with main events that marked the history ofthe city. 3D models have bcen produced and elaborated in Maxon and Cinema4D environments and rcndered on a 64 core Render Farm. Ali the scenes have been processed in post-production with Adobc After Effects, where motion blur, color grad ing and compositing of comp lex particles l'or sea foam, smoke and fire effects havc been added . CONCLUSIONS What does it make a visit to a heritage site an unforgettable experience for a tourist? What does it make an approach to a heritage site a fully satisfying moment of scientific analysis for a scholar? Thc answer to both quest ions is the same, a physical experience, the only exercise that leaves a vivid memory in the visitor' s mind. The physical experience is the comerstone of many key heritage sites where the good conditions of the ancient monuments allow the observer to catch a glimpse of the ancient life. In the case of limited accessibility to archaeological sites and poor preservation conditions, virtual archaeology comes into play. The digitai recreation of ancient environments can integrate a traditional visit or autoptic study providing a full immersive sensorial experience that enhances thc process of leaming. Furtherrnore, the development of such projects bring to the achievement of new cognitive tools usable by the archaeologists l'or benchmarking their hypotheses 225 SESSION E - Cultural IIcritagc ldcntit y about topograph y of ancient cities and the relationship between man, artifact and landscape [12]. The Siracusa 3D Rebom project and the related movie on screen in the Ortigia 3D theater represents the initial attempt to put under revision the concept of Greek heritage ofthe city, first among the local people and then among foreign visitors. In fact, as above mentioned, the development of such virtual archaeology projects risk to tum out pointless if not inserted into a wider planning scheme in which local govemment and citizen community have to play the main roles. The product achieved has not to be considered as a simple scientific exerci se carried out by an interdisciplinary team of scholars aimed to create a touristic attraction, but it represents at the same time a seminai advance in the knowledge of the Greek background of the city, a pivotal planning experience that could activate more local actors in a joined effort of further improving the current image ofthe city on the public eye. Besides further potent ial researches on the digitai reconstruction of other district s of the Greek city or on the exportation of 3D multimedia on mobile devices inserted in a network of augmented reality view spots, that are both option s to be explored in the next future by the authors, a relevant point in the research agenda is about the proper use of Siracusa 3D Rebom in a generai pian of heritage industry. Nowadays, archaeologists play an important role in the relationship between archaeology, tourism and heritage, and yet until recently they only rarely chose to actively engage these fields. By uncovering evidenc e of past societies, they provid e significant resources that modem people use in defining their identities through the exploration of their heritag e. By providing the material remain s of cultural heritage , they also provide the material s for an expanding heritage tourism industry [13]. In this perspective , the modem role of archaeologists, as intellectual , beyond the borders of specialist studie s and academic isolation entails serious obligations and responsib ilities [14] that cannot be centered just on preservation of monuments but also on their public interpretation [15]. REFERENCES [I] B. Daix Weseoat, "Sy racusc. The faircst Greek city", Roma 1989. [2] S.A. Paipetis, M. Ceecarelli, "The Genius or Archimedes. 23 Centuries or lnfluence on Mathematics, Science and Engineering", New York: Springer, 2010. [3] http ://whe.unesco.org/en/list/I 200, accessed 27th December 2013. [4] R. Leighton, " Paolo Orsi (1859-1935) and the prehistory or Sicily", in Antiquity, voI. 60, 1986, pp. 15-20. [51 G. Voza, "Siracusa 1999: Lo scavo archeologico di Piazza Duomo", Palermo, 1999. [6] B. Basile, S. Mirabella, " La costa nord-occidentale di Ortigia (Siracusa) : nuovi dati dagli scavi urbani", in G.M. Bacci, M. C. Martinelli, "Studi Classici in onore di Luigi Bemab ò Brca", Messina, 2003, pp. 269-343. [71 www.itlab.ibam.cnr. it [8] www.arcadia.edu/abroad/mcas [9J J. Van der Borg, A.P. Russo, " Rcgcncration and Tou rism Development. Evidence frorn Three European Cities", in Working Papers or the Department or Econornics or Ca' Foscari University or Venice, voI. 21, 2008, p. 12. [101 R. Evans, "Syracusc in Antiquity: History and Topography'', Pretoria: Unisa Press, 2009. [III E.F., Castagnino Berlinghieri, Archimede alla corte di Hierone Il: dall 'idea al progetto della più grande nave dci mondo antico, la Syrakosia, in L. Bracccsi, F. Raviolo. G. Sassa telli (eds.), ll esperia, 26. Studi sulla grecità di Occ idente. L' Erma di Bretschneider: Roma, 20 I O, pp. 169- 188. [12] S. Moser, Arehaeological Representation. Thc Virtual Conventions for Constructing Knowledge about the Past, in l. 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