La torre nella torre. Recupero e rilievo 3D per la fruizione della Torre Matta ad Otranto

The tower in the tower. Recovery and 3D survey for virtual visits to the Torre Matta in OtrantoOtranto is one of the biggest ancient settlements in the Salento (Puglia), in the easternmost part of the Italian peninsula. This location has always affected the city’s history, which has a stratified system of defence. As a result of the Turkish invasion of 1480, the city was completely destroyed. During the counter-offensive of 1481 the city was reconquered by the Aragonese, who are credited with the reconstruction of the city and its defences, building high walls with circular towers (still visible and well conserved), which housed artillery pieces on the various floors of the casemates. Around the mid sixteenth century the existing defensive structures were enriched with bastions including the imposing pentagonal structure that incorporates the circular tower of the late fifteenth century, the so-called Torre Matta, facing the harbour. As part of recent recovery measures, the enormous room inside the bastion was completely emptied. This entailed removing all the accumulated material which, over the years, had come to fill the entire space. This material obscured the external wall of the fifteenth century tower enclosed within the bastion, of which, at the beginning of the work, only the stone corbels and the blind arches at the top were visible. The material had also prevented access via the only original entrance, on the south-east side, which was on the level of the moat. The stratified deposits to be removed were about 18 m deep, and the operation served to bring to light the entire room and the tower, making it possible for the first time to appreciate the relationship between the walls. To record the geometry of the individual architectural features, a 3D laser scan was performed, integrated with direct surveys. A three-dimensional model was created in order to enable virtual visits and disseminate knowledge of the monument.