Integrated methodologies for the analysis and conservation of the Old Bar (Montenegro): the case study of Doge’s Palace

The old town of Bar in Montenegro, a Byzantine settlement rebuilt on the remains of a more ancient town destroyed in the 3rd century during the Roman invasion of Dalmatia, ruled between 1443 and 1571 from the city of Venice and then by the Turks until 1878 is, today, a little over an abandoned village but, at the same time, an extraordinary monument from the past to protect and enhance. Traces of its most glorious past are still recognizable in the ruins and artifacts of daily life become known following recent archaeological excavations. Stari Bar is a site unique, a sort of miracle that fortunately survived the ravages of time and negligence of the men. However, it now runs the risk of being overwhelmed by a frenzy of "intervention" that leaves little room for reflection and that can produce errors, which cannot be remedied in the future. Rather than rebuild a fake medieval city or give way to immobility, risking that the culture of ruin prevail, it is necessary to pursue activities of knowledge, study and promotion allowing local communities (as well as those further afield) to re-appropriate the memory of those architectural and urban spaces, triggering new ideas for their possible regeneration. In this framework, this paper presents the case study of the "Doge's Palace", analyzing this important monument in depth knowledge, in order to formulate a proposal for its conservation and valorisation. The experience here reported responds to the initial phase of a more ambitious project aiming at producing a three dimensional “picture” of the site in its current state: a representation made both through the documentation of the town’s most relevant parts and the use of virtual tours and 3D modelling. This activity intends to support the nomination proposal submitted by Montenegro in 2010 to include Stari Bar in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.