Survey and Characterization of the Traditional Corbelled Dry-Stone Huts of the Etna Region (Sicily, Italy)

In recent years, the study of the significance of historical cultural landscapes has assumed an increasingly important role in spatial planning. In this framework, the demand for new surveying solutions for a deeper knowledge of architectural cultural heritage components has become a topic of considerable interest. This paper presents the first results of an ongoing research on surveying, mapping and 3D modeling of traditional corbelled dry-stone huts (the so-called “pagghiari”, in Sicilian) located on the North side of the Etna volcano (Sicily, Italy). This heritage has recently acquired great cultural importance with the inscription of the “Art of dry-stone walling, knowledge and techniques” in the UNESCO representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A series of surveys have been performed to detect, survey, and classify these artifacts and their surrounding areas. On the one hand, to have a more comprehensive view of the landscape’s surrounding elements and to detect the corbelled dome huts, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with photogrammetric and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensors have been adopted, surveying more than 25 ha for each flight. On the other hand, surveys with portable LiDAR sensors integrated into smartphones and tablets (i.e., iPhone and iPad) have been conducted to acquire detailed information on the geometry and conservation status of these architectural elements. This research is leading to the construction of a precise geodatabase that enables the positioning and cataloging of elements of interest and allowing characterization, comparison, and integration with other databases built in the past.