The SUNRISE Summer School. A Report on the First Two Editions

Abstract. The SUNRISE Summer School (Seashore and UNderwater documentation of aRchaeological herItage palimpSests and Environment) has reached its second edition. The school was co-organised by the Politecnico di Torino and the Italian Society of Photogrammetry and Topography (SIFET) and supported by the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), CIPA HD and several other Italian institutions. The second edition of the summer school took place in the municipality of Porto Cesareo (LE - Italy) from September 8 to 14, 2024, and involved 24 students – architects, engineers, archaeologists, and marine ecologists from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Asia. The school started from the experience built in the first edition, and throughout the entire duration of the event, the students were guided by 23 tutors, ensuring an almost one-to-one student-tutor ratio. The school offered theoretical activities with lectures and fieldwork, applying a learning-by-doing teaching approach. Two sites were the focus of the fieldwork: Torre Chianca (a 16th-century defensive building) and the Roman marble columns (a submerged archaeological site). Both sites are part of the protected marine area of Porto Cesareo. Field data collection was supported by representatives from various companies: Images, Microgeo, Stonex, Pix4D, Geomax, Leica, Dynatech, and 3DTarget (the companies were also sponsors of the initiative), who demonstrated the latest technologies for integrated multi-sensor surveying of cultural heritage, such as drones, terrestrial and aerial laser scanners, and mobile mapping systems.