From tactile reading to extended experience for blind people

The paper discusses the methodology followed to survey the Tomb of Julius II (Rome, 1545) and create high- and low-resolution 3D models to provide on the one hand, the Superintendency with a useful support for the study and virtual restoration of the surveyed work, and on the other hand, blind people with a digital twins, printed more and less accurately to be suitable for the use and differentiated understanding of the monument. Each step of the photogrammetric process employed is recalled discussing the quality of the 3D digital assets functional for the purposes mentioned above. The automated processes of next-generation photogrammetry are in fact aimed at obtaining polygonal 3D models mapped with real colour textures to derive metrically, topologically, and chromatically precise and accurate representations. The technique and method now established in the tradition of the scientific disciplinary sector of survey and representation, provide an opportunity to outline shared and interoperable investigation paths. These prove useful for stimulating inclusive projects and directing the evolution of the discipline in relation to communication and socio-cultural learning processes.