Digital technologies at the service of cultural heritage: Knowledge, valorisation and fruition; Le tecnologie digitali a servizio del patrimonio culturale: Conoscenza, valorizzazione e fruizione

In the contemporary era, the use of digital technologies is substantially changing how we understand, conserve, and enhance our architectural and urban heritage. The digital transition, understood as the integration of IT tools into the processes of documenting and managing the built environment, opens up previously unavailable opportunities. It creates an informational ecosystem in which buildings, urban settings, historical archives, and metadata can interact in more diverse and accessible ways. The research discussed here originates from experiences conducted in different contexts across Italy and Spain, where BIM, H-BIM, GIS, and 3D modelling tools were applied to various types of heritage assets. These experiments made it possible to acquire specific insights into individual aspects of the digitisation process: from selecting software suited to the project’s needs, to defining parameters for assessing survey accuracy, and even integrating historical sources with current 3D models. The interdisciplinary approach suggests looking beyond the building itself, encompassing the urban context and the cultural-historical dimension of places. This perspective goes beyond representing shapes and dimensions alone, incorporating information on materials, construction techniques, and historical phases. In doing so, it offers a more nuanced understanding of the transformations and layered nature of heritage. The knowledge gained during these stages enabled the creation of a prototype webGIS platform capable of integrating cartographic data, 3D models, and historical documents into a single tool. Such a solution proves useful not only for practitioners and researchers but also for a broader, more diverse audience. It facilitates access to information that was previously difficult to obtain, fostering greater exchange and a better understanding of our architectural and urban heritage.