Laser scanner for historic churches restoration and conservation: Church of San Filippo in Cagli

The case study of the Church of San Filippo in Cagli demonstrates the effectiveness of a single-instrument laser survey method in preservation and protection of a supposedly damaged historic church. The Marche region (and all our country) has a wealth of less important pieces of historical heritage spread across the area. Many of these churches are closed as a precautionary measure, in the wake of disastrous events or as a result of the neglect caused by a lack of funding for maintaining and restoring them. Today laser techniques means that a survey can be viewed as an independent way of preserving, protecting and understanding the church actual state of preservation. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness, the low cost and the speed of these technologies. The exhaustive nature of such data means it is possible to carry out subsequent investigations, during the processing stage, in order to understand the mechanisms that are causing the degradation or structural damages of buildings. This approach allows to reduce timescales, costs and errors in assessment.