3D Reconstruction for the Interpretation of Partly Lost or Never Accomplished Architectural Heritage

During the past years there has been the birth of significant projects about digitization and virtual preservation of cultural heritage. Such panorama offers great chance to develop 3D modeling for cultural heritage. 3D reconstruction offers a chance to digitize historic objects which are still extant, and also to reconstruct and visualize objects which are no longer extant and that can only be known from historic descriptions or depictions. The chapter focus on the latter aspect. In fact, 3D modeling of extant objects is technologically or logistically challenging but virtual reconstruction of non- or no longer- existent items adds more importance to interpretation of historic sources. This chapter illustrates the current situation taking into account the state of the art, the different suggestions in solving such kind of problem, and through up to date examples will suggest a possible unified method to give life to both lost buildings and never built ones. The goal is to find common points with other similar cases, to obtain a common procedure an to suggest ways of development.