La digitalizzazione del patrimonio come strumento per la conoscenza, un’esperienza sull’architettura ferroviaria siciliana

The process of digitisation of the artistic and cultural heritage has enriched the possibilities of representation and communication of architecture, increasing the modes of reproduction, fruition as well as the possibilities of protection and preservation. The study of this research draws attention on the continuous progress of technology in the cultural field and highlights the important collaboration that exists between digital and analog representation, identifying, with this synergy, a virtuous path that allows, through the use of different methodologies, to be able to know and analyze the historical phases of a building. In particular, the attention was directed to the Caltanissetta Centrale station, a significant junction of the Sicilian railway network both for the connection of the island and for the sulfur trade. With its late modernism, the station under study is part of the story of Art Nouveau stations in Sicily, and it becomes a witness to economic and social changes in the region, thus making itself an asset to be protected and disseminated. Through the study of iconographic documents, historical photos, and graphic analysis it was possible to retrace, through a backward process from the laser scanning survey to the study of photographic restitution, the main historical phases that characterised the evolution and extension of the factory. Through such 3D graphic representations, it was also possible to reproduce the characteristics of the building and highlight the changes that occurred over time and the evident divergences that existed between the building and the original design idea.