On this article we are going to talk about these two new 3D models created by drone photogrammetry, where we can appreciate the Villalonso´s castle, on one with the surroundings and on the other with more detail. We share a free light version through Sketchfab, ideal to visualize it from the smartphone with a low consumption data, while the complete version is available for sale on Snaptank.
This small but remarkable castle, located in the province of Zamora, Spain, is one of the best preserved in the region. Nowadays we still can appreciate it in a very similar condition to the original. The present construction dates back to the XV century, although this fortification is already named on earlier texts when it belonged to the Calatrava Order.
The castle is made of limestone masonry, with a prototypic square floor plan, with cylindrical towers on the corners, an Homage Tower with a cornice of machicolations and all of it surrounded by a complete line of battlements. Also its moat can still be noticed, currently almost completely flooded, as well as the remains of a second outside wall with polygonal towers.
This fortification has been scenario of historical events as the conflict between Joanna la Beltraneja and the Catholic Monarchs. More recently it has provided the setting for two movies, been the most remarkable “Robin and Marian” performed by Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn.
Nowadays the castle is a private property, and it can be visited on Sundays and public holidays from 12:00 to 14:00. In our aim to facilitate access to culture and heritage we hope our model can be helpful for those who want to know the fortification.
The day we captured the images for this photogrammetry the environment conditions were really good. The cloudy day allowed us to capture images without shadows from the direct sunlight. It was a windy day and at some point it was a bit difficult to pilot the drone, a DJI Phantom 4, but its stabilization system and attitude system made it possible to take fine photos and recover the course seamlessly and we were pleasantly surprised.
We are really satisfied by the results achieved after our optimization efforts thanks to the simple geometry of the monument and the new software Instant Meshes of retopology that we shortly ago implemented to our workflow. It gave us a great result for detection and maintenance of shafts to maintain the basic geometry while we reduced the polygons.