Full-scale tracings, drawn in plaster surfaces or engraved in stone walls and floors, were used frequently in Renaissance construction, in order to control the execution of ashlar masonry. In many occasions, these tracings furnished the shape of the templates used in the dressing process, either in true size or orthogonal projection.

This paper is focused on the use of photogrammetric measurement techniques for the valorization of architectural and archaeological heritage. The functionality of this system allows operating with unfavourable conditions and pursues the accuracy of the measurement. This case of study presents a complex situation. Currently half part of the octagonal room annexed to the Temple of Mercury in Baia is underwater. Moreover the level of water may grow due to the characteristic movement of the soil in this area. The accuracy of photogrammetric method and the high definition of the camera used for the photo captures allow the reconstruction of the interior of the dome. The particular geometry of this surface stresses the relevance of a complete documentation of the dome. The research describes the method and tools used to realize this survey in difficult conditions and then analyze the geometry of the interior of the dome. In order to develop the geometrical analysis we carried on a series of operations on the point cloud and the survey model. The study of the photogrammetric model and the construction of an ideal model based on geometrical laws generate useful material to understand this complex vault.

The shape and layout of the coffers of the Pantheon's dome have been studied for centuries. The configuration of the coffers is governed by a complex design that is based on geometric-constructive laws yet to be defined. There is no recent and complete graphic restitution of the Pantheon in scientific publications. In this research, contemporary metric restitution techniques were employed to survey the dome's soffit. The layout of the coffers and their relationships with the spherical surface were analysed according to the performed survey. Through a comparative analysis between the restitution model and the ideal model of the dome's soffit, we can identify possible irregularities and the laws that govern the elaborated design of these elements.

This paper deals with the study of a rectangular plan sail vault built by brick slices in the Roman villa of Carranque in Spain in the fifth century, in the context of a research project on the constructive configuration of Mediterranean vaults of this kind. The project aims to identify technical links to trace their expansion and examine the possibilities of using this technique in present-day building practice. The case at Carranque confirms the arrival of this vaulting technique to the Iberian Peninsula prior to a possible diffusion through the Arab world. The analysis of a 3d photogrammetric model of the remains allows posing that the solution used to solve the slices meeting at the diagonal is different from Byzantine ones; the large perimetral arches were lowered, almost matching the height of the small ones, and a vertical area was placed, being arranged as if it were part of the vault itself. With this design, it is not easy to notice the rectangular form of the vault.

Abstract. Quattrocento perspective and Spanish sixteenthcentury stereotomy share a number of concepts, problems and methods, although there seems to be no direct substantial connection between them. This suggests the existence of a common source, but it is not easy to identify it. Neither classical geometry nor the mediaeval practical geometry tradition include a word about orthographic projections, rotations or projection planes. Thus, mediaeval construction shop practices furnish the most probable common source for perspectival and stereotomic methods. Curiously, these practices are seldom mentioned in the exhaustive literature on perspective; even the use of orthogonal projection, although impossible to deny, is not often stressed. On the other side, Gothic tradition is recognised, at least in Spain, as an important source of Renaissance stereotomic methods. By contrast, the role of perspective and Italian and Italianate artists, which has been downplayed so far, should also be taken into account as a source of Renaissance stereotomy.