With ancient monuments, it often happens that following their discovery components of them have to be moved, albeit temporarily, to museums in order to carry out restoration work. In the case of funerary contexts, a consequence of this is the de-contextualization of grave goods and furnishings, making it impossible to convey the significance of the archaeological monument as a whole. An effective solution to this problem can be achieved by using technology to provide virtual experiences in which the grave goods, for example, are virtually restored to their original contexts. This paper presents the “Marta Racconta. Storie Virtuali di Tesori Nascosti” project, co-financed by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Puglia, undertaken by CNR-IBAM (Lecce, Italy) in order to install a virtual platform in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto (MARTA). The project aims to make `accessible' ancient monuments from the Greek Taras (the ancient Taranto), such as the Twin Tombs Monumental Complex, the Tomb of the Festoons, and the Hypogeum of the Gorgons, discovered some years ago in Via Otranto. The first two of the these monuments are closed to the public, while the third was filled in and is currently located below a road. From a technological point of view, a real time 3D platform for immersive stereoscopic visiting was developed, with a navigation system using a `natural interface' and commands executed with simple hand gestures. Using this technology, visitors will be able to follow an integrated knowledge itinerary based on heterogeneous content including historical and archaeological data and the results of archaeometric analyses. This involves spatial navigation within a hyper-realistic environment where it will be possible to interact with the 3D structures, to query the database and to interact with

The pier of San Cataldo (Lecce, Italy) is located along the Adriatic coast about 10 km east-northeast of the ancient city of Lupiae, (today's Lecce), and is the best-preserved port structure of the Roman Age in Apulia. It was researched between 2004 and 2007 by the Laboratory of Topography and Photogrammetry (LabTAF) of the University of Salento, who produced a detailed analysis of the remain and a survey of the portion still visible on the mainland. At the same time, aerial surveys and the study of historic aerial photos from the 1940s and 50s supported a topographic study of the site. Since 2013, within the activities of the LabTAF, the structure has been the subject of an excavation campaign where a further portion of the pier was discovered in the mainland, and the underwater remains were documented. This contribution aims to emphasise the importance of collecting complete metric and historical-archaeological data for a proper three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the structure. On this occasion a photogrammetric survey was conducted and a 3D image-based model created that has become the starting point of the reconstruction hypothesis of the pier and its topographical context. The final model represents a reasonable synthesis of the interpretation of the collected data, and serves as a starting point for tackling the future integration or modification of the structure.Highlights:A key requirement for a better understanding of the Roman pier of San Cataldo (Lecce, Italy) was the creation of a 3D model from an image-based survey.The 3D reconstruction process of the monument was based on a production pipeline anchored to metric data and historical-archaeological information.The final 3D reconstruction proposal shows the original shape of the Roman pier, the ancient surrounding landscape and its related activities.

The church of Santa Maria della Lizza is one of the most important examples of medieval architecture in the Salento Peninsula in south Italy. In order to understand the extension and layout of the crypts, integrated ground-penetrating radar (GPR) prospections and laser scanner surveys were undertaken in the church and in the surrounding areas. The analysis of the GPR measurements revealed many anomalies that could be ascribed to unknown structures (crypts), as well as other anomalies related to the old church. The GPR data were supported by the laser scanner data establishing the spatial relationship between the surface and the level below the church.

The Messapian necropolis of Monte D’Elia is related to one of the most important ancient settlements in the Salento Peninsula (in south Italy). In order to understand the extension and layout of this necropolis in the various periods of its use, a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) prospection was undertaken in some important sample areas by a team of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the National Research Council of Italy. The analysis of the GPR measurements revealed many anomalies that could be ascribed to archaeological structures (tombs), as well as other anomalies of presumable natural origin or referable to modern features. The data collected were georeferenced in the digital archaeological map of the site and integrated with a virtual reconstruction of the surveyed area.