ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ТА ЗОБРАЖЕННЯ АРХІТЕКТУРНИХ ТА АРХЕОЛОГІЧНИХ ПАМ’ЯТНИКІВ: КОРОТКИЙ ОГЛЯД МЕТОДІВ ТА ТЕХНІК (Survey and representation of architectural and archaeological assets: a summary of methodologies and applications)

One of the most important presuppositions of conservation is the respect afforded not only to the work of art but also to the historical data relating to the same, thus considering the work of art in its diachronic evolution, and interpreting and recognizing its characteristics, in a vision that takes into account not only the context but also details such as decorative and structural elements. Conscious choices may in this way be made which require the use of documentation and analysis in order to preserve the architectural and archaeological asset, valorizing the same in its context, with uses and functions appropriate to requirements and circumstances. The project entails enormous responsibilities and must be handled correctly, using all the tools of knowledge available, from historical and archaeological analysis to metric, architectural and static-structural surveys through to the history of technologies and construction techniques, the chemical-physical analysis of materials, problems of degradation and instability, using a combination of professionalism and skills. A preliminary knowledge of a work of art is strictly correlated to a highly critical use of technical and operative tools which should not be separated from an analytical interpretation but must be included in the same methodological programme. The problem of survey and representation in restoration and conservation becomes increasingly important when it is seen as a means of investigating and organizing data in order to understand an architectural work or archaeological site. Metric data are undoubtedly the first level of knowledge so that the scope is to quantify the data in a specific space.