A Digital Workflow for Built Heritage: From SCAN-to-BIM Process to the VR-Tour of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan

The latest information technology developments have enabled the creation of novel virtual experiences favouring an increasingly higher level of information connected to the 3D reconstruction. Building Information Modelling (BIM), 3D cloud services and virtual/augmented reality (AR-VR) projects are the most applied methods to transmit the wealth of built heritage from both the geometrical and informative points of view. In this paper, we present a holistic workflow to integrate the most applied digital techniques with the aim of creating the highest quality-immersive solutions starting from an accurate 3D survey. Thanks to a new SCAN-to-BIM method that transfer the morphological and typological characteristics of the surveyed building to a shared cloud system, it will be possible to support specialists in the documentation and preservation of historical uniqueness of the basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan (Italy) with a new level of information sharing. Finally, a new digital experience based on next-generation technologies has been offered to the cultural tourism. Thanks to the development of a virtual tour that embeds different multimedia data (360° photos, photos, virtual notebook, description, video, audio etc), it has been possible to create a digital history for one of the greatest examples of the historic Italian architecture.