A digital atlas for the Byzantine and Post Byzantine Churches of Troodos region (central Cyprus)
Date Issued
April 2010
Abstract
This paper presents the results produced during an interstate research project between universities of Greece and
Cyprus using Web technologies. The main aim of the Digital Atlas is to create a unique product for the visualization
of the cultural heritage of Cyprus, while at the same time to be able to provide information to the end-users.
The region of Mountain Troodos is characterized by one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the
former Byzantine Empire. The complex of 10 monuments – churches, which are all richly decorated with murals,
provides an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting (frescoes religious paintings) on Cyprus. These
churches – monuments where inscribed to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Monuments and attract a large number of tourists every year (over 1 million).
The above application consists of a WebGIS tool, using the ArcGIS Server software. The WebGIS includes a detail
3D reconstruction of the surrounding area of the monuments using grayscale high resolution orthophotos and 3D
digital “light” models of the monuments, produced in Google SketchUp software, using non-rigorous topometric
methods. Moreover the application includes no-spatial information about the monuments, such as relevant bibliography, photos of the interior and exterior of the monuments and also audiovisual data. Finally this digital tool provides to the end-users a brief, time-stamped, historical background information about the Byzantine and postByzantine monuments.
Cyprus using Web technologies. The main aim of the Digital Atlas is to create a unique product for the visualization
of the cultural heritage of Cyprus, while at the same time to be able to provide information to the end-users.
The region of Mountain Troodos is characterized by one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the
former Byzantine Empire. The complex of 10 monuments – churches, which are all richly decorated with murals,
provides an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting (frescoes religious paintings) on Cyprus. These
churches – monuments where inscribed to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Monuments and attract a large number of tourists every year (over 1 million).
The above application consists of a WebGIS tool, using the ArcGIS Server software. The WebGIS includes a detail
3D reconstruction of the surrounding area of the monuments using grayscale high resolution orthophotos and 3D
digital “light” models of the monuments, produced in Google SketchUp software, using non-rigorous topometric
methods. Moreover the application includes no-spatial information about the monuments, such as relevant bibliography, photos of the interior and exterior of the monuments and also audiovisual data. Finally this digital tool provides to the end-users a brief, time-stamped, historical background information about the Byzantine and postByzantine monuments.
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