Algorithmic Modelling as a Key Tool for Ribbed Vault Geometry

The paper proposes the first results of an ongoing research on the geometry of ribbed cross vaults starting from the principles and theories illustrated in some historical treatises. In the research, a particular role is assumed by algorithmic modelling which is an effective tool for the construction and verification of the geometry of the intrados surfaces of vaults. Starting from the studies conducted in this regard by the two Italian engineers. The construction of the digital models deriving from treatises by Curioni and Lamberti has allowed us to compare them with the geometry of the vaults of a side chapel of the church of Santa Lucia in Cagliari. Through the 3D laser scanner survey of these vaults, it was possible to evaluate which of the models proposed in the two treatises best approximated the case study of Santa Lucia in order to conduct algorithmic modelling of the surface closest to the geometry of the vaults revealed by the point cloud.