3D models of cultural heritage

The recent advances in the techniques of laser scanning and the increase in computing power in last years have enabled astonishing experiments of virtual reality. The three-dimensional digitizing of cultural heritage and its modeling are so becoming increasingly widespread. This work shows a comparison between the consolidated operating mode of the laser scanner with the techniques of image capture and generation of 3D models based on photographs made with ordinary digital cameras. Thanks to a special software exploiting appropriate photogrammetric techniques and algorithms defined as "Structure from Motion" (SfM), we can reconstruct high-resolution DEMs (Digital Elevation Model) of high quality. We studied a masonry tower in the south of Italy (Marina di Gioiosa Jonica, Reggio Calabria), dating back to the fifteenth and sixteenth century.