From Maps to 3D Models: Reconstructing the Urban Landscape of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the 16th Century

A groundbreaking 3D reconstruction of San Cristóbal de La Laguna reveals the city's 16th-century urban landscape with unprecedented accuracy. Using Leonardo Torriani's 1588 map as the foundation, researchers developed a map-based workflow that integrates historical sources and current data to balance fidelity with modernization. This methodology not only reconstructs one of the first non-fortified Spanish colonial cities but also sets a precedent for applying similar techniques to other European maps from the same era. The findings highlight the potential of 3D visualization technologies in preserving and studying historical urban landscapes that have been lost or altered over time.

Pérez Nava, F., Sánchez Berriel, I., Pérez Morera, J., Martín Dorta, N., Meier, C., & Hernández Rodríguez, J. (2023). From Maps to 3D Models: Reconstructing the Urban Landscape of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the 16th Century. Applied Sciences, 13(7), 4293. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13074293