Search Results (2)

This study presents a cross-cultural comparison of two fortified residences—Palazzo Farnese in Italy and Dong’s Fortified Compound in China—through a triadic analytical framework encompassing architectural form, symbolic ornamentation, and public perception. By combining field observation, iconographic interpretation, and digital ethnography, the research investigates how heritage meaning is constructed, encoded, and reinterpreted across distinct sociocultural contexts. Empirical materials include architectural documentation, decorative analysis, and a curated dataset of 4947 user-generated images and 1467 textual comments collected from Chinese and international platforms between 2020 and 2024. Methods such as CLIP-based visual clustering and BERTopic-enabled sentiment modelling were applied to extract patterns of perception and symbolic emphasis. The findings reveal contrasting representational logics: Palazzo Farnese encodes dynastic authority and Renaissance cosmology through geometric order and immersive frescoes, while Dong’s Compound conveys Confucian ethics and frontier identity via nested courtyards and traditional ornamentation. Digital responses diverge accordingly: international users highlight formal aesthetics and photogenic elements; Chinese users engage with symbolic motifs, family memory, and ritual significance. This study illustrates how historically fortified residences are reinterpreted through culturally specific digital practices, offering an interdisciplinary approach that bridges architectural history, symbolic analysis, and digital heritage studies. Full article

This paper presents the results of a research that was carried out in a castle in Prószków, a town near Opole, Poland. The investigations were based on the conducted architectural research, including iconographic studies and the analysis of the technology, building materials, and architectural details. The conducted research demonstrated that the Renaissance structure in question was built by Baron Jerzy Prószkowski as a palazzo in fortezza, most likely in the years 1563–1571. The residence is planned around a rectangular courtyard with four bastion towers. The scope of the architectural transformations of the complex during the baroque period and the 19th century was also presented. In the summary, it was highlighted that the castle is one of the first buildings located north of the Alps that refers to the designs of Villa Farnese in Caprarolli, which was designed by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignioli. It is in the style of palazzo in Fortezza, similar to residences in Czechia, Silesia, and Poland. Here, we emphasized the uniqueness of the complex, which stands out from other residences in Silesia and areas of the former Republic of Poland due its original form and innovative solutions. Full article