The St. Eustache and the Meryemana churches in Göreme. Two case studies of documentation about rupestrian heritage in Cappadocia, technical approach from the digital survey to the restoration hypothesis

Abstract

The rupestrian settlements in Cappadocia are well known for their richness and very articulated shapes, but, at the same time, they are a clear sample of Patrimony at risk, the assets of Cappadocia today appears intended for a broad loss, in certain parts the rupestrian monuments are well preserved, in other parts they are abandoned or overloaded by admiring tourists, this whole patrimony appears only partially preservable, and therefore it is even more exceptional in its very late phase.Most of the rupestrian churches in Cappadocia has mural paintings which survived to centuries of improper usages and abandon, environmental menaces, vandals, some of these churches are quite simple but others are connected to very complex architectural systems and they still represent the meaning of that places at the time of their construction.This research it's part of the result of the 2012 campaign of the Tuscia University research mission "Rock painting in Cappadocia. For a project of knowledge, conservation and enhancement" 2012 and of an actual PRIN (Italian National Relevance Research Projects), this paper it's aimed to two very meaningful examples of these rupestrian conditions, the St. Eustache church and the Meryemana church, both located in the Göreme area, out of the Open Air Museum, they are two interesting cases testifying the specific condition of this patrimony for which a documentation, investigation, preservation and valorization project is under development.The first "on the field" common activities between the UNIFI and 81,786 XQLWV WRRN SODFH LQ WKH ODUJH DUHD DW WKH EDFN RI WKH 7RNDOÕ Kilise, starting from the front of this meaningful monument. In this first meaningful collaboration the creation of 3D digital models, starting from an accurate digital survey, is aimed to display the paintings in the excavated churches that host them, allowing a deeper and clearer knowledge of the rupestrian habitat in all its components. It will be also very useful for the realization of innovative instruments of fruition, suitable for a presentation of the rock monuments and pictorial decorations, in a scientifically correct way and diversified according to different communication levels: virtual

3D Laser Recording and the “Naturalised” Urban Landscape of Göreme, Kapadokya, Turkey

“…It is in this rich and complex context, with the permission of the (Crescenzi & Verdiani, 2013), and completed in 2012. These projects followed an interdisciplinary methodology, linking humanistic knowledge with scientific and technical investigations.…”