ORIGINAL PAPER 3D survey techniques for the conservation and the enhancement of a Venetian historical architecture B. Bertellini 1 & C. Gottardi 1 & P. Vernier 1 Received: 30 November 2018 /Accepted: 18 April 2019 # Società Italiana di Fotogrammetria e Topografia (SIFET) 2019 Abstract In recent years, thanks to a rapid and continuous technological development, the metric survey has had a significant increase in the digitization and enhancement of Cultural Heritage; in this research work, we will describe the methodology used to survey the ceiling of the Sala Capitolare of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Tintoretto, the painter of the pictorial cycle on site, the Scuola Grande decided to increase the information regarding this historical architecture, carrying out an in-depth analysis of the ceiling structure. The complexity of this Venetian building, its considerable dimension, the richness of decorations and the particular lighting conditions have required the integration of different methodologies: the laser scanning survey and the photogrammetric acquisition, together with the topographic network, allowed to obtain an adequate metric result for the study of the structure in its entirety. Furthermore, we also decided to test the image acquisition with a spherical camera for the documentation and the enhancement of the analysed historical architecture. The geometrical complexity of the Scuola caused various problems during the survey campaign, resulting in some unconventional choices in the work phases: the research presented here analyses the difficulties encountered and it illustrates the solutions chosen in order to solve them and to study the ceiling of the Sala Capitolare. Keywords Survey . Cultural heritage . Laser scanning . Photogrammetry . Spherical images . Virtual reality Introduction The study of architectural buildings is fundamental for every activity about preservation and conservation of Cultural Heritage; in fact, the deep knowledge of built architecture with historical research and interpretative analysis of materials al- lows its conservation and enhancement. In the last years, thanks to the fast and continuous technological development, the metrical survey had a significant increase in this particular field (Tucci et al. 2016; Balletti and Guerra 2015; Bitelli 2002): in fact, digital acquisition allows us to study some aspects difficult to investigate in a detailed way. Moreover, the analysis of shape and geometry of an object is essential in order to know its state of conservation and to plan possible restoration interventions. In this research, we will explain the methodology used for the ceiling’ s survey of the Sala Capitolare of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice, focusing especially on the support structure of Tintoretto’ s paintings, anchored to the wooden system of Palladian trusses. The Photogrammetry Laboratory of the Iuav University of Venice was always inter- ested in documenting wooden structures with peculiar geo- metrical complexities; over time and through different case studies, we had developed an operational procedure for the analysis of such construction techniques (Balletti et al. 2003, 2013, 2014). First of all, the great importance of this architec- ture in the Venetian context, together with its articulated con- formation, required a deep preliminary investigation. In fact, an old building is usually a complex spatial system, where visible elements and interior parts, hidden to the visitor’ s eyes, are strictly connected, in a continuous overlap of different constructive phases. For this reason, the survey of a historical architectural building often leads to difficulties in the metrical acquisition phase, which needs a detailed planning of the mea- surement operations. The connection between different envi- ronments, the particular lightning conditions and the visitors’ presence in the Sala, made the survey campaign very * C. Gottardi cgottardi@iuav.it 1 Laboratorio di Fotogrammetria, Università Iuav di Venezia, S. Croce 191, 30135 Venice, Italy https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-019-00267-6 Applied Geomatics (2020) 12 (Suppl 1):S53–S6 8 6 /Published online: 1 May 2019