Reflections of pluralized accessibility in Cimitile. Geometry, light, matter, conservation, and enhancement of the cultural heritage. The role of sun light inside an early Christian church

Abstract

Daylight plays a fundamental role in both energy saving as well as improving the quality of life. Especially in
 heritage buildings, sun light has been used to create a particular visual perception, along with an identity of
 the building.
 The design and orientation of churches, as well as the shape and location of the windows were often chosen
 in a way that the direct sun light underlined a particular component or area inside them. The main object of
 this study was to develop and validate a methodology for analysing the direct sun light distribution inside early
 Christian church buildings as well as identifying the presence of particular areas or elements inside them.
 The proposed methodology was applied to study the direct sun distribution inside the Basilica Vetus, located
 in Cimitile and the Baptistery of Santa Maria Maggiore, located in Nocera Superiore.
 The simulation results highlight the reliability of the proposed methodology and confirm the strong influence of
 the position of the sun, in some specific moments of the year, on the shape and orientation of the buildings as
 well as the size and position of the windows.