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BBC and Der Spiegel have both reported on the recomposition of the destroyed Andra Mantegna fresco in the 13th century church of the Eremitani, in Padua, Italy.
The church was destroyed during an Allied bombing raid in March 1944, reducing the majestic fresco to dust and chunklets.
The church was rebuilt after the war, but restoring the fresco presented seemingly insurmountable problems, as the only pictures of the work were in black and white.
But through the Miracle of Math, artists and mathematicians have been able to recompose the fresco using algorithms to "paint" the colour gradations between the extant pieces or "points" of the picture.
So at least we have a cyber fresco. But if this is possible, why not a holographic reconstruction of the Roman Forum?
And if we can mathematically reconstruct the Forum, why not also the events that took place in it? If we have reported "chunklets" of history, why not use algorithms to fill in the unkown spaces between event-points?
The days of Star Trek's holodeck are nigh! And this is truly a fascinating prospect; for, if we can "dial into" whatever holographic replay of the past we want, why not decide to live in whatever era we chose? At age 21 we would have a choice of which historical period we want to live in (for life).
All this, thanks to Allied bombing.
According to Der Spiegel, the Church of the Eremitani blasted to smithereens during a raid on "nearby" German headquarters, and this event-piece of the "reconstructed past" was found in several other places on the net as well.
Uh... how nearby? We have been to Italy, and one remarkable thing (at least to hemispheric Americans) is how small the cities are. Is the crowded downtown of crooked, narrow streets the place for a "headquarters" in the middle of a war? It is certainly possible, but the more likely place -- easily and quickly accessible by vehicles -- would be on the more modern outskirts of the city.
So we went agoogling.
Not surprisingly, there was no confirmation of the "headquarters" excuse. It is beyond dispute that the Church of the Eremitani was destroyed during a bombing raid on 11 March 1944, conducted by the US Army 2nd Bombardment Group (H), 429th Squadron. (The Second Was First (1999) ISBN 0-9675054-0-2.)
The sortie log states:
The photos show:
That hardly looks like centre-ville. But just to make sure, we googled an aerial map of Padua showing the location of the Marshalling Yards and the Eremitani Church.
The sortie log for the Bomber Group, states,
Actually, the confusion was the result of General Indifference. For bombing purposes Italian cities were ranked "A" "B" "C". "A" cities were off limits. "B" cities were subject to slow go special case bombing. "C" cities were "who gives a fuck?"
Padua was classed "C"
The church was destroyed during an Allied bombing raid in March 1944, reducing the majestic fresco to dust and chunklets.
The church was rebuilt after the war, but restoring the fresco presented seemingly insurmountable problems, as the only pictures of the work were in black and white.
But through the Miracle of Math, artists and mathematicians have been able to recompose the fresco using algorithms to "paint" the colour gradations between the extant pieces or "points" of the picture.
So at least we have a cyber fresco. But if this is possible, why not a holographic reconstruction of the Roman Forum?
And if we can mathematically reconstruct the Forum, why not also the events that took place in it? If we have reported "chunklets" of history, why not use algorithms to fill in the unkown spaces between event-points?
The days of Star Trek's holodeck are nigh! And this is truly a fascinating prospect; for, if we can "dial into" whatever holographic replay of the past we want, why not decide to live in whatever era we chose? At age 21 we would have a choice of which historical period we want to live in (for life).
All this, thanks to Allied bombing.
According to Der Spiegel, the Church of the Eremitani blasted to smithereens during a raid on "nearby" German headquarters, and this event-piece of the "reconstructed past" was found in several other places on the net as well.
Uh... how nearby? We have been to Italy, and one remarkable thing (at least to hemispheric Americans) is how small the cities are. Is the crowded downtown of crooked, narrow streets the place for a "headquarters" in the middle of a war? It is certainly possible, but the more likely place -- easily and quickly accessible by vehicles -- would be on the more modern outskirts of the city.
So we went agoogling.
Not surprisingly, there was no confirmation of the "headquarters" excuse. It is beyond dispute that the Church of the Eremitani was destroyed during a bombing raid on 11 March 1944, conducted by the US Army 2nd Bombardment Group (H), 429th Squadron. (The Second Was First (1999) ISBN 0-9675054-0-2.)
The sortie log states:
"Twenty aircraft dropped 60 tons of 500-lb. GP bombs on Marshalling Yards on the west side of Padua."
"Photos showed considerable damage in the north yards and direct hits on repair sheds and warehouses."
The photos show:
(www.trenidicarta.it/bombesuibinari/padova.html)
That hardly looks like centre-ville. But just to make sure, we googled an aerial map of Padua showing the location of the Marshalling Yards and the Eremitani Church.
The sortie log for the Bomber Group, states,
"Confusion over the target resulted in two runs being made on the target. The first time over, the rear half of the Group dropped its bombs while the forward half did not for fear of dropping bombs on another Group on a different axis of attack. The whole Group went over the target a second time and the forward half bombed."Quite some confusion!
Actually, the confusion was the result of General Indifference. For bombing purposes Italian cities were ranked "A" "B" "C". "A" cities were off limits. "B" cities were subject to slow go special case bombing. "C" cities were "who gives a fuck?"
Padua was classed "C"
"This is the story of the men of the Second Bombardment Group (Heavy) .... They were the cream of America’s youth. May their names, and deeds, never be forgotten."
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