Team
Starting in 2014, a team of UC San Diego researchers comprised of humanists and cultural historians from the School of Arts & Humanities and engineers and archeologists from the Jacobs School of Engineering have collaborated with colleagues from the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) of the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy (POLITO), on the Turin 1911 project. The research team combined broad cross-disciplinary expertise in research fields as diverse as textual analysis and Geomatics (UAV and close-range photogrammetry, BIM, 3D modeling, GIS) to create a multifaceted investigation of the Turin 1911 World's Fair.
Numerous staff members, both at UC San Diego and POLITO, support the work of the core research team. They participate, in various capacities, in the archival research, cataloging and digitizing of materials, 3D modeling, IT support, and media and communications support. Graduate and undergraduate students from both institutions have been working as interns and research assistants on various aspects of the Turin 1911 project as well. Colleagues from several institutional repositories have also offered their professional expertise and collaboration on various aspects of the project. We are grateful for their availability, knowledge, and partnership.
The archival digital section of the project collects, examines, and preserves a vast array of artifacts, ephemera, publications, architectural designs, documentaries, and other materials pertaining to the exposition and its fairgrounds in the Parco del Valentino in downtown Torino. The project also involves the 3D re-creation and accurate geo-positioning of some of the notable buildings that were dismantled after the end of the 1911 Exposition. The digital technologies used by Geomatics allow current users to virtually navigate the 1911 fairgrounds in the Parco del Valentino - complete with expansive architectural structures and stunning works of art.
CONTACTS
For any question regarding the Turin 1911 project, send an email to
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RESEARCH TEAM
Cristina Della Coletta is Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and Chancellor's Associates Chair in Italian Studies at UC San Diego. She is the author of the books When Stories Travel: Cross-Cultural Encounters Between Fiction and Film (Johns Hopkins UP 2012); World’s Fairs Italian-Style: The Great Expositions in Turin and Their Narratives (Toronto UP, 2006); and Plotting the Past: Metamorphoses of Historical Narrative in Modern Italian Fiction (Purdue UP, 1996). Professor Della Coletta is the P.I. for this project.
Filiberto Chiabrando is an Associate Professor in Geomatics at the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy) Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) and Adjunct Associate Professor at Michigan Technological University - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering (USA). His main research interests are related to photogrammetry, unmanned aerial systems, laser scanning, 3D reconstruction, 3D modeling, Virtual Reality/Augmented reality, rapid mapping, and sensor integration often connected to Cultural Heritage documentation in architectural and archaeological contexts.
Dominique Rissolo is an archaeologist and research scientist with the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture, and Archaeology at the University of California, San Diego, where he co-leads the Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative. He has extensive experience in the digital documentation of heritage sites and structures in the Americas and Europe. Dominique is interested in the development and critical evaluation of digital workflows for the capture, analysis, and valorization of heritage places.
SUPPORT TEAM
Alma Palazzolo - UC San Diego - project administrator
Anthony King - UC San Diego - promotion
April Bridges - UC San Diego - development
Erica Casareto - Polytechnic University of Turin - archival research, 3D modelling, and social media
Mohammadreza Mehdizadeh (Sina) - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D modelling, VR experiences
Scott McAvoy - UC San Diego - 3D contents
Trevor Henthorn - UC San Diego - IT support
Tom Guptill Russo - UC San Diego - IT support group coordinator
Versalynn Roa - UC San Diego - logistical support and archial materials digitization
OTHER COLLABORATORS
Andrea Crevola - 3juice - website development, creation and maintenance (2022-now)
Alessandro Puggioni - 3juice - website development, creation and maintenance (2022-now)
Alessandra Spreafico - Polytechnic University of Turin - geodatabase, WebGIS, cataloguing, archival research, website design, 3D metric survey (2017-2026)
Mahtab Khoddami - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D modelling and 3D printing (2025)
Antonio Giordano - (2023-2025) - historical music reproduction
Falko Kuester - UC San Diego - (2018-2024) Qualcomm Institute group coordinator
Yiqing Zhao (Shelly) - UC San Diego - image editig (2024)
Alyssa Lafevre - UC San Diego - video making (2023)
Patrick Hennessey - UC San Diego - IT support (2020-2024)
Mojtaba Bazrafshan - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D modelling (2022-2023)
Michael Hatch - UC San Diego (2022)
Paola Gasbarri - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D modelling (2021-2022)
Simone Scovazzo - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D modelling (2020-2021)
Justin Tuerk - UC San Diego (2020-2021)
Davide Einaudi - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D modelling (2019-2020)
Vid Petrovic - UC San Diego - 3D data visualization (2018-2022)
Miki Urban - Consultant (2018-2021)
Cindy Lee - UC San Diego (2018-2020)
Alessio Calantropio - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Elisabetta Colucci - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Giacomo Patrucco - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Giulia Sammartano - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Lorenzo Teppati Losè - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Antonia Teresa (Nannina) Spanò - Polytechnic University of Turin - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Erik Lo - UC San Diego - 3D metric survey (2017-2018)
Farshid Bazmandegan – UC San Diego - promotion (2015-2020)
Eleonora Raspi – University of Virginia (2008-2010)