Towards a web-based representation of spatial change over time at San Julián de Samos

The project titled “San Julián de Samos: a digital approach” aims to study the architectural transformation of the monastic site of San Julián de Samos, in the northwest of Spain, over the course of centuries. This study includes the parallel evolution undertaken by its rural and urban surroundings, the sacred precinct and the nearby village. I utilize a multidisciplinary approach that combines historical sources, on-site investigation and digital technologies (2D CAD and 3D models). The project addresses and visualizes questions of change and transformation over time that are crucial to analyze how the site was conceived, understood, and experienced as a sum of different parts instead of a single artifact.

After my participation in the June 2018 workshop “Visualizing Venice Summer Institute – Advanced Topics in Digital Art History: 3D and (Geo)Spatial Networks”, this project began a new phase of the existing work by setting new goals. The main one was to make accessible the project through a web presence to engage and open the doors of this monastic site to a wider audience. The website is conceived as an open-ended platform where the aims, approaches, results and in-process research at San Julián de Samos is available. In this paper, I will show how this new goal was faced by the scholar, what challenges arose in the process, and what assets are added to the project through this new development.