Documentation, understanding and enhancement of Cultural Heritage through integrated digital survey: Ínsua fort in Caminha (Portugal)

The Ínsua fort is located on a small island, south of the Minho River mouth (north of Portugal, at the border with Spain). The construction of the fort took place in the mid-17th century (during the Portuguese Restoration War) and surrounded the preexisting convent of Santa Maria da Ínsua, founded in 1392 by the first observant Franciscans. This fort allowed the protection of the entrance via Minho River, integrating a defensive system formed by a network of small coastal forts and other fortresses already standing along this river. During the first French Invasion (1807), the space was invaded by Spanish troops. Moreover, the Franciscan community was forced to abandon the convent, due to the Portuguese dissolution of religious orders (1834). Ínsua was managed and occupied by the Army until 1970’s. However, despite its classification as a National Monument (1910), the abandonment and degradation of the last decades, as well as the lack of alternative reuse, led to the on-going conversion into a touristic accommodation. Scholars, mostly in the historical and architectural fields, have deepened the diachronic evolution of both the convent and the fort. However, there is a lack of studies that analyze the physical evidence through the elaboration of digital documentation. This paper seeks to fill in this gap, and it is even more relevant in this historical moment, because it was conducted exactly before the building rehabilitation. The digital documentation of the whole complex was carried out through integrated digital survey methodologies, with TLS and photographic instruments, combining terrestrial and aerial data. First results of the digital survey operation allow the creation of a digital model for further studies on the historical and architectural evolution of the complex. Moreover, different outputs for the visualization, the preservation and sharing of this historical cultural heritage can be enabled.