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

Summary form only given. The 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 Goreme 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 UNITUS units took place in the large area at the back of the Tokali Kilise, starting from the front of this meaningful monument. In this first meaningful collaboration the creation of 3D digital models, starting from an accurate di