3D Laser Recording and the “Naturalised” Urban Landscape of Göreme, Kapadokya, Turkey

This paper presents research on the historic urban settlement and natural landscape between the Göreme and Kiliclar (Swords) valleys, located in Kapadokya, one of the most distinctive human and natural landscapes in the world, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. The research was part of the Italian Scientific Research Programs of Relevant National Interest (PRIN) programme Rupestrian Art and Habitats in Kapadokya (Turkey) and in Central and Southern Italy – Rock, Excavated Architecture, Painting: Between Knowledge, Preservation and Enhancement. The study area has all the features of rupestrian Mediterranean culture, encompassing a heritage developed over time with environmental, architectural and artistic elements. It tells a special story about ancient life, completing and widening our comprehension of the past. There are buildings of great architectural and pictorial qualities, such as the Tokali Kilise, Saint Eustachius and Saint Daniel, where it is still possible to read the old defensive system and the local way of life. Yet these cave settlements are at risk from deterioration. The research is centred on survey, especially on a digital survey carried out using 3D laser scanners for the architecture as well as of the natural stone structure of the settlement. In this way the first complete and detailed documentation of this area has been created, allowing the first studies on the urban character of this archaeological site. The research presented here will show a fully digital approach using 3D digital models aimed to investigate, read, preserve the information and disseminate the artistic and cultural values otherwise not easily accessible and continuously at risk of loss because of decay processes.