Fotografia aerea storica e da drone per lo studio di un contesto lagunare: il caso di Butrinto (Albania)

The paper presents the methodological approach applied to the study of Butrint and its lagoon landscape (Southern Albania). Different methodologies were chosen depending on the contexts of investigation. The history of the past researches on the Acropolis of Butrint, carried out continuously since 1928 and poorly documented, led to a context affected by several explorations. This occurrence forced a non-extensive excavation, causing a partial vision of the context where the UAV proved to be a useful instrument for understanding the site. It was possible to produce an updated plan and tie together features which, due to proceeding with small sondages, were not topographically connected. Following the 2020 interruption, the research focused on the remote study of the Vrina plain. The acquisition of 1937 IGM frames granted a good coverage and the photogrammetric restitution of Butrint and its suburb. The photos show the landscape before the massive transformations occurred in the mid-twentieth century: this grants a closer look at the ancient landscape and the opportunity to detect anomalies no longer identifiable. The work aims then to define the development of Butrint, even outside its walls, the relation to the infrastructure on the plain and to verify previous hypotheses on land organization.