<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The site of Avella is a precious example of ruined medieval fortification with territorial and landscape values. The width and vulnerability of its masonry remnants require a systematic survey and physical investigation, necessary to any preservation and enhancement strategy planning, so far, not yet extended to the fronts of the fortress and the two walled lines. The understanding of the process, scientifically based, which over time has led the buildings to the present state of fragmentation has the same need. Obtain with expedited methods and customary instruments a photogrammetrically controlled survey, the stratigraphic study of the castle elevations and the processing of a photo-based 3D model is therefore the aim of the paper. Carried out on an interdisciplinary basis, it comes from the extension of the outcomes of a didactic workshop in master’s degree courses in Architectural Survey and Restoration Design, held in 2018. The surveying procedure with the drone proved to be the most suitable, also for the possibility of an expeditious and cheaper measurement phase compared to other surveying methods. The results comprise the fortress georeferenced ortho-photomosaic and its photo-based 3D model, then exported both as a point cloud and a 3D mesh. The workshop also implemented topography and terrestrial photogrammetry procedures, such as to be compared with the previous one.</p>

The chapter, starting from the analysis of the characteristics of heritage tourism, in particular in Italy, and the expectations of cultural consumers, focuses on the importance of a visual identity for the cultural heritage. For an effective integration of tourism and culture, a careful planning is required in the promotion of cultural assets, activities, and traditions. The role of communication should be to propose a new interpretation and representation of the territory, having as a main theme the role of culture. In this sense, it may be useful to identify a location through a brand, which materializes the characteristics of a system of culture and values of the territory, selecting structural elements that allow its identification and synthesizing them in a single name or symbol. Finally, some experiences of visual communication for cultural heritage realized in the academic field are presented here.

The objective of this chapter is to show how chaos and complexity theory can be applied to understanding of the dynamics of a city. At first, the changes in the theoretical and practical knowledge that occurred in contemporary philosophical and scientific thought from the end of the nineteenth century, which led to the formulation of the chaos and complexity theory are discussed. The new vision of the world emerging from chaos and complexity theory allows a rapprochement between the two complementary ways of analysis and action: the analytical method, born from the Cartesian method, and the systemic approach, derived from cybernetics and systems theory. Then the characteristics of a complex system are analyzed by referring to the definitions of the main exponents of the discipline, in order to understand if a city can be identified as a complex system. A review of the main theories about complexity of the city is included in order to demonstrate that a city can be considered as a “system” defined by the elements (the various activities and urban functions) and from the interactions and relations between its various components (tangible and intangible communications) that produces hardly detectable effects on all parts of the city. Finally, the systems currently used for the description and the representation of components and relationships of a city intended as a complex system are presented.

The chapter analyzes, with particular regard to the Italian context, the aspects related to the fruition of cultural heritage and to the expectations of the potential public. There is often a lack of adequate media for communication, which should create interest in a non-specialist public. Multimedia and interactive technologies can be a valuable support to enhance internal and external communication for museums and cultural sites, reaching a wide audience in a differentiated and customized manner depending on their interests. The aim is to understand the link between the work of art and the geographical, physical, historical, and cultural context in which it was born, to open the horizon to a synoptic and organic understanding of heritage, contributing to its protection and educating citizens. Finally, a case study concerning the museum and territory of Mondragone (Italy) is presented.

Le immagini del passato costituiscono preziose testimonianze per comprendere i valori ed i saperi di un periodo storico e le sue modalità di trasmissione in forma grafica. L'articolo analizza il ruolo e le caratteristiche visive delle illustrazioni nei testi miniati dei bestiari medievali per individuare i codici iconografici utilizzati nella rappresentazione. L'interesse per questi apparati illustrativi non è nella valenza scientifica, ma nella testimonianza storica di un modo di comunicare la propria visione del mondo attraverso la definizione di un codice visivo i cui significati vanno ben oltre la semplice raffigurazione degli animali. I disegni, infatti, non miravano a descrivere le specie sotto il profilo naturalistico, ma a metterne in evidenza alcuni attributi attraverso l'adozione di simboli grafici che rendevano superflua una descrizione accurata della fisionomia degli animali e nello stesso tempo rimandavano ai significati allegorici ad esso associati ed agli insegnamenti da trarne.