Churches Acoustics as Intangible Cultural Heritage: Experimental and Numerical Characterization of the Temple of San Biagio

ABSTRACT

The acoustic properties of churches are, to date, as much a cultural asset as their architectural features. The study, understanding and conservation of acoustic phenomena that characterize liturgical spaces, to date, make use of new technologies and methodologies that facilitate their practice. The study presented here analyzes the acoustic phenomena that characterize the Temple of San Biagio (Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy). It makes use of experimental acoustic surveying and the aid of the laser scanning surveying technique for the creation of the geometry, subsequently adopted for numerical acoustic modeling of the church in Odeon Acoustics software, used for the study of its acoustic characteristics. The selected methodology allowed us to delve into dynamics often encountered in acoustic simulations, such as the calibration of numerical models and the influence of the mesh number of the generated geometric models, and to understand the acoustic characteristics of the church.

KEYWORDS:

• acoustics
• church acoustics
• cultural heritage
• intangible cultural heritage

Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the National Operational Program Research and Innovation, by funding the project code DOT20A93TY from the year 2020 to the year 2023.

We are grateful for the help of Prof. Giovanni Mataloni, from the University “G.d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, for his precious help during the geometrical survey campaign.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Programma Operativo Nazionale Ricerca e Competitività [DOT20A93TY].