The defensive system of Montecatini Val di Cecina. Digital integrated relief for knowledge and enhancement

On the occasion of the Fortmed 2024 held in Tirana was presented, by the same authors, a first contribution on the ancient village of Montecatini Val di Cecina, still dominated by the imposing tower of the Belforti (from now on Tower) one of the most powerful families of the Volterra’s territory in sec. XIII. Important are the transformations that have affected the territory surrounding the village, first with the plant of a copper mine now transformed into a museum and more recently, with the exploitation of wind energy. The intent of the article already presented was to document, albeit through the initial acquisitions arising from archival, bibliographical and iconographic surveys, the results of the initial phase of research whose main objectives are knowledge and diachronic interpretation of the current urban conditions. The identification and diachronic interpretation of the residual traces of the ancient defensive system is testified, in addition to the Tower, also by the presence of circular towers, coeval or after the construction of the same Tower (1340). This paper documents, as indicated in the final part of the article Fortmed 2024, the expected developments of the research undertaken and which also include a more careful and thorough analysis of the Tower. The further steps of the research move in the first place from the indispensable acquisitions resulting from the integrated instrumental survey operations, performed with 3D laser scanning and drone photogrammetry. Beyond the operational issues related to major operations, the contribution aims to explain how the 3D restitution of the village of Montecatini Val di Cecina, although useful for the main objectives assumed on the basis of the research, is not only a necessary tool to undertake operations of protection and enhancement but also to activate innovative modes of communication all aimed at extending the dissemination of historical knowledge of the village, to be understood as a necessary and desirable cultural and tourist resource, to the wider catchment area.