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In recent years, the impact of Climate change, anthropogenic and natural hazards (such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis, fires) has dramatically increased and adversely affected modern and past human buildings including outstanding cultural properties and UNESCO heritage sites. Research about protection/monitoring of cultural heritage is crucial to preserve our cultural properties and (with them also) our history and identity. This paper is focused on the use of the open-source Google Earth Engine tool herein used to analyze flood and fire events which affected the area of Metaponto (southern Italy), near the homonymous Greek-Roman archaeological site. The use of the Google Earth Engine has allowed the supervised and unsupervised classification of areas affected by flooding (2013–2020) and fire (2017) in the past years, obtaining remarkable results and useful information for setting up strategies to mitigate damage and support the preservation of areas and landscape rich in cultural and natural heritage.

This study aims to assess the potential of Sentinel-2 NDVI time series and Google Earth Engine to detect small land-use/land-cover changes (at the pixel level) in fire-disturbed environs. To capture both slow and fast changes, the investigations focused on the analysis of trends in NDVI time series, selected because they are extensively used for the assessment of post-fire dynamics mainly linked to the monitoring of vegetation recovery and fire resilience. The area considered for this study is the central–southern part of the Italian peninsula, in particular the regions of (i) Campania, (ii) Basilicata, (iii) Calabria, (iv) Toscana, (v) Umbria, and (vi) Lazio. For each fire considered, the study covered the period from the year after the event to the present. The multi-temporal analysis was performed using two main data processing steps (i) linear regression to extract NDVI trends and enhance changes over time and (ii) random forest classification to capture and categorize the various changes. The analysis allowed us to identify changes occurred in the selected case study areas and to understand and evaluate the trend indicators that mark a change in land use/land cover. In particular, different types of changes were identified: (i) woodland felling, (ii) remaking of paths and roads, and (ii) transition from wooded area to cultivated field. The reliability of the changes identified was assessed and confirmed by the high multi-temporal resolution offered by Google Earth. Results of this comparison highlighted that the overall accuracy of the classification was higher than 0.86.

This study investigates the environmental parameters that contribute to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in historic environments, with a particular focus on the UNESCO World Heritage City of Matera. The complex urban morphology of Matera, with its narrow streets and underground buildings, generates distinctive microclimates that intensify the UHI phenomenon, posing challenges for urban planning and heritage conservation. The main objective of the research is to identify which environmental parameters interact with Matera’s architectural and urban characteristics to intensify the UHI, and to propose mitigation strategies that balance heritage conservation with environmental sustainability. The research follows a mixed methodological approach in two phases. The first phase consisted of a comprehensive literature review, identifying gaps in previous studies and developing a methodological framework combining quantitative and qualitative techniques. The second phase involved empirical analysis using advanced techniques such as 3D laser scanning to model urban morphology, satellite image analysis to map the spatial distribution of the UHI, and the integration of historical and real-time meteorological data. The results show significant correlations between urban morphology and UHI intensity, suggesting strategic interventions such as green roofs and reflective materials to mitigate the effects. These findings provide valuable information for urban planners and policy makers, and highlight the importance of integrating sustainable approaches into heritage conservation.

This study examines change detection techniques in dense point clouds for the purpose of cultural heritage preservation, with a particular focus on the San Pietro Barisano Bell Tower in Matera, Italy. Dense point clouds, obtained via laser scanning, offer detailed 3D representations of heritage structures, facilitating the precise monitoring of changes over time. The investigation uses a variety of change detection algorithms, including the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm, which is renowned for its robust registration capabilities in aligning point clouds with high accuracy. The combination of ICP with deviation analysis and feature-based methods allows for the effective identification of alterations, including deformations, material loss, and surface degradation. This methodology establishes a comprehensive framework for the monitoring of cultural heritage, thereby enabling timely and targeted preservation efforts. The results emphasise the substantial contribution of dense point cloud analysis to the enhancement of heritage management and the safeguarding of vulnerable architectural sites.

The concept of HBIM (Historic/Heritage Building Information Modeling) has attracted growing interest within research communities in recent years, as reflected in an expanding body of literature exploring its potential in data acquisition and modeling, historical evolution documentation, heritage management, and condition analysis. Yet, new challenges arise in extended HBIM capabilities by integration and interoperability with other technologies and environments for comprehensive heritage assessment. In this context, this paper presents a scoping review, based on the PRISMA protocol, of 60 publications from the Scopus database that document research frameworks and applications of IDPs (integrated digital platforms), where HBIM is combined with different systems to enhance data richness, functionality, and analytical evaluation, as well as to exchange, interpret, and use information effectively. The results show three major thematic areas, namely multi-scale analyses based on HBIM and GIS (geographic information systems); multi-source data repositories development; and sensor networks integration with advanced IoT (Internet of Things) systems. The overview outlines how these frameworks foster the development of interoperable, multi-layered, and data-driven ecosystems, advancing HBIM to an operational component in heritage management and enabling predictive diagnostics and real-time monitoring, while current limitations in semantic consistency, automation, and scalability still hinder full implementation.

This research analyses the capitalisation processes that affected two industrial plants with identical design characteristics: Manifatture Ceramiche Pozzi in Sparanise (CE, 1961) and Ferrandina (MT, 1965). Both plants, designed by Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini according to the same compositional principles, are a paradigmatic example of 20th-century industrial architecture in the context of the industrialisation policies of southern Italy. Decommissioned for different reasons by 1980, the plants now show similar processes of post-industrial transformation: partial demolition, new uses and selective heritage recognition. Through the analysis of data from the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy Development Fund) and collaboration with municipal archives, CSAC in Parma and MART in Trento and Rovereto, the research aims to define evaluation methodologies for the capitalisation of modern industrial architecture, outlining new conservation strategies.

This research analyses the capitalisation processes that affected two industrial plants with identical design characteristics: Manifatture Ceramiche Pozzi in Sparanise (CE, 1961) and Ferrandina (MT, 1965). Both plants, designed by Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini according to the same compositional principles, are a paradigmatic example of 20th-century industrial architecture in the context of the industrialisation policies of southern Italy. Decommissioned for different reasons by 1980, the plants now show similar processes of post-industrial transformation: partial demolition, new uses and selective heritage recognition. Through the analysis of data from the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy Development Fund) and collaboration with municipal archives, CSAC in Parma and MART in Trento and Rovereto, the research aims to define evaluation methodologies for the capitalisation of modern industrial architecture, outlining new conservation strategies.