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This research investigates the utilisation of the scan-to-HBIM-to-XR process and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry to improve the depiction of archaeological ruins, specifically focusing on the Claudius Anio Novus aqueduct in Tor Fiscale Park, Rome. UAV photogrammetry is vital in capturing detailed aerial imagery of the aqueduct and its surroundings. Drones with high-resolution cameras acquire precise and accurate data from multiple perspectives. Subsequently, the acquired data are processed to generate orthophotos, drawings and historic building information modelling (HBIM) of the aqueduct, contributing to the future development of a digital twin. Virtual and augmented reality (VR-AR) technology is then employed to create an immersive experience for users. By leveraging XR, individuals can virtually explore and interact with the aqueduct, providing realistic and captivating visualisation of the archaeological site. The successful application of the scan-to-HBIM-to-XR process and UAV photogrammetry demonstrates their potential to enhance the representation of building archaeology. This approach contributes to the conservation of cultural heritage, enables educational and tourism opportunities and fosters novel research avenues for the comprehension and experience of ancient structures.

The research focuses on the generation of 3D models aimed at creating interactive virtual environments as the outcomes of scalar representations of existing realities. The purpose is to increase the narration, fruition, and dissemination of the findings that emerged from the archaeological investigations carried out in a large sector of the south-eastern suburbs of Rome. In this context, the research proposes a process oriented toward designing a virtual museum of the first group of works from the Appia Antica Archaeological Park and now exhibited at the Museo Nazionale Romano, the Antiquarium di Lucrezia Romana, and the Antiquarium di Villa Dei Quintili. Managing high historical and cultural findings through geometrical surveys, high-resolution data from 3D survey analysis, archival research, and interactive digital representation is the aim of the study. The digitisation of artefacts has made it possible to build new forms of communication that enrich virtual and on-site visits with content, both of the park and of the Museums that host the collections. In particular, it has gradually allowed a ‘virtual’ relocation of works from the Appia Park, favouring the definition of a method capable of communicating new content and laying the basis for the development of a virtual museum, a temporary exhibition, and a web platform for one of the most important historical sites of ancient Rome.

One of the main objectives of today’s archaeological sites and museums is the development of research, understood as the interpretation and contextualisation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage to broaden the knowledge and accessibility of archaeological parks often unknown to visitors and the public on a large scale. In this perspective, the Appia Antica Archaeological Park aims to support research in digitising infrastructures and archaeological contexts of high historical and cultural value to plan short- and medium-term preservation and maintenance projects. In this context, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are tools with enormous potential in survey, inspection and digitisation, providing the basis for the subsequent phases of data interpretation, representation and material analysis. Thanks to the photorealistic reconstruction of dense structure from motion (DSfM) in the application of structural inspections, today it is possible to intercept the geometry and material conditions of small, medium and large structures, reducing the costs of inspections, limiting the interruption of the public and providing professionals and visitors with a better volumetric understanding of the system. However, inserting information that gradually accumulates throughout the process requires advanced 3D digital representation techniques, such as HBIM (historic building information modelling), scan-to-BIM approach and interactive forms, such as virtual and augmented reality (VR-AR). For these reasons, this study summarises the experience and lessons learned from the UAV inspection of three research case studies at archaeological, architectural, and infrastructure scales to increase awareness of the Roman-built heritage.

This study summarises research progress to identify appropriate quality methodologies for representing, interpreting, and modelling complex contexts such as the Claudian Aqueduct in the Appian Way Archaeological Park. The goal is to intrinsically integrate (embed) geometric survey (Laser scanning and photogrammetric) with the materials and construction techniques (Stratigraphic Units—SU), semantic models in order to support the design with a better understanding of the artefact considered, and also to give indications that can be implemented in the future in a continuous cognitive process. Volume stratigraphic units in the form of architectural drawings, heritage building information modelling (HBIM) and extended reality (XR) environments have been oriented to comparative analyses based on the research case study’s complex morphology. Analysis of geometries’ intersection, construction techniques and materials open up new cognitive scenarios, self-feeding a progressive knowledge and making different studies correlatable, avoiding diaspora or incommunicability. Finally, an extended reality (XR) platform aims to enhance tangible and intangible values through new human-computer interaction and information sharing levels.