PROGETTO PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA

Archive Documentation System

Software applications: technical specifications of the project and its implementation

The acquisition and processing of data concerning the fresco cycle painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo got under way in 1991 with the insertion of the principal data derived from the various diagnostic analyses of the work of art.

The fundamental approach underlying the entire project, given the quantity and complexity of the data which were to be accumulated and processed over the course of a multi-year research program, was to avoid the creation of a closed system based on the use of existing computer technology but rather, conscious of the rapid evolution in information technology, to design an open system capable of evolving and growing over the years in step with technological developments and as a function of the quantity and characteristics of the information to be processed.

The software applications have also evolved with the evolution of available technology and, together with the hardware, it has moved from DOS to Windows 95.

The drawings, images and texts are stored in a specially developed system based on CAD software (Auto CAD) which constitutes the main instrument for researching data by way of topographical inquiries. The CAD program is tied into an application for measurement and adjustment of visual images (Real View) and a relational database which allows for the efficient consultation of the archive by way of specially designed thematic records files.

This configuration of the information system allows for a remarkable level of efficiency and perfect integration of heterogeneous data types including the vectorial data of line drawings, raster data for photographic images, and the alpha-numerical data of texts.

The instruments used for data input and output that have been used up to now are an AO format electronic drawing board for entering drawings, an A4 format (21 X 29.7cm) scanner with a module for transparencies (600 X 1200 dpi) for the acquisition of prints and photographic plates, a plotter and an A4 inkjet printer.The professional processing of high chromatic fidelity images is performed with Photoshop program while the input and processing of alpha-numerical data is done using Omnipage and Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word is a program by Microsoft Corporation, Omnipage is a program by Caere Corporation, Photoshop is a program by Adobe System Incorporated, AutoCAD is a program by Autodesk Incorporated, RealView is a program by Vectar, s.r.l.