Architectural Perspectives in the Cathedral of Palermo: Image-Based Modelling for Cultural Heritage Understanding and Enhancement

Abstract. Palermo oers a repertoire of both artistic and architectural solid perspective of great beauty and in large quantity. This paper addresses the problem of the 3D survey of these works and their related study through the use of image-based modelling (IBM) techniques. We propose, as case studies, the use of IBM techniques inside the Cathedral of Palermo. Indeed, the church houses a huge and rich sculptural repertoire, dating back to 16th century, which constitutes a valid eld of IBM techniques application. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the eectiveness and potentiality of these techniques for geometric analysis of sculptured works. Indeed, usually the survey of these artworks is very dicult due the geometric complexity, typical of sculptured elements. In this study, we analysed cylindrical and planar geometries as well as carrying out an application of perspective return.