Centro storico di Città del Messico: Il rilievo digitale come strumento di documentazione e conservazione del patrimonio UNESCO

The Historic Centre of Mexico City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, under criteria ii, iii, iv and v. The monumental area covers 9 km² and includes Mexica (Aztec) archaeological remains, colonial buildings, nineteenth-century architecture (especially Porfirian), and modern constructions, resulting in a total of 1,841 catalogued assets. Three buildings stand out in particular: the Palace of Communications and Public Works, the Postal Palace, and the Palace of Fine Arts, all designed by renowned Italian architects and artists of the early twentieth century, such as Adamo Boari, Silvio Contri, and the Coppedè family, whose Florentine atelier "Casa Artistica Coppedè" was responsible for the artistic decoration. These buildings, located between Plaza Tolsá and Alameda Central along Tacuba Street, have been the central focus of the research project “Historic Centre of Mexico City; digital surveying as a tool for documentation and conservation of UNESCO heritage”, developed by the Survey Laboratory of the Department of Architecture at the University of Florence. This project employed advanced digital techniques to document both the urban environment and the artistic ornaments in iron and bronze produced at the Fonderia del Pignone in Florence.The experience gained over years of work has enabled the laboratory to establish a systematic methodology for documenting built heritage, paying particular attention not only to architecture but also to the urban and landscape context. The use of digital technologies for surveying and conserving heritage has become an essential practice, especially in international projects. The study carried out in this Phd thesis highlights the significance of the plastic and decorative heritage in constructing the collective visual identity of Mexican culture, the result of a valuable collaboration between Florence and Mexico City, two World Heritage cities.