A virtual reconfiguration of two destroyed neighborhoods in the Old Town of Palermo

Abstract

The proposed contribution deals with the topic of virtual three-dimensional reconstructions on an urban scale. The choice was oriented on significant samples of city portions that over the centuries have undergone substantial transformations or distortions: the aim is to reconstruct their history backwards, starting from the current survey and using the tools of virtual representation to reconfigure the forms of the past and tell their events. From here comes the idea to create, for pieces, a hypertextual study of the urban image of Palermo: the theme of the transformation of the city, of change and of complexity, opens up differentiated research paths. The hypertext choice was almost obvious: in the description of the city and its use the different references (texts, maps, photos, three-dimensional models) can be used in multiple and dynamic aggregations. The report develops in a diachronic manner, using the overlapping of several information layers to set some remarkable dates on which to think about the urban image therein expressed.