We present a comprehensive methodology for the large-scale photogrammetric documentation of St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its ornate Baroque architecture and Caravaggio masterpieces. Over seven nights of evening-only data collection, we captured 99,000 images using DSLR cameras, drone photography, and LIDAR scanning to create a highly detailed 3D reconstruction comprising 25-30 billion triangles. This paper documents our complete workflow for cultural heritage preservation, addressing the unique challenges of digitizing complex baroque architectural spaces with highly reflective metallic surfaces, dark materials, intricate tapestries, and restricted access. We detail our pipeline from multi-modal data acquisition through processing, including strategic image grading and AI-assisted denoising to address low-light grain, extensive LIDAR point cloud cleanup, hybrid photogrammetric reconstruction using RealityCapture, and mesh subdivision strategies for real-time visualization engines. Our methodology combines automated workflows with necessary manual intervention to handle the scale and complexity of the project, with particular attention to reflective surface challenges characteristic of baroque heritage sites. We also present preliminary experiments with Gaussian splatting as a complementary representation technique. The resulting digital archive serves multiple preservation purposes including disaster recovery documentation, conservation analysis, virtual tourism, and scholarly research. This work provides a detailed, replicable workflow for heritage professionals undertaking similar large-scale architectural documentation projects, addressing the practical challenges of applying photogrammetric methods in complex real-world heritage scenarios.

翻译：我们提出了一套针对马耳他瓦莱塔圣约翰联合大教堂（联合国教科文组织世界遗产地，以其华丽的巴洛克建筑和卡拉瓦乔杰作闻名）进行大规模摄影测量文献记录的综合方法论。经过七个夜间数据采集时段，我们使用数码单反相机、无人机摄影和激光扫描技术捕获了99,000张图像，构建了由250-300亿个三角形组成的高度精细3D重建模型。本文记录了我们在文化遗产保护方面的完整工作流程，解决了数字化复杂巴洛克建筑空间所面临的独特挑战，包括高反射金属表面、深色材料、精细挂毯以及受限访问条件。我们详细介绍了从多模态数据采集到处理的完整流程，包括策略性图像分级和AI辅助降噪以应对低光照颗粒噪声、大规模激光雷达点云清理、基于RealityCapture的混合摄影测量重建，以及面向实时可视化引擎的网格细分策略。我们的方法将自动化工作流与必要的人工干预相结合，以应对项目的规模和复杂性，特别关注巴洛克遗产地典型的反射表面挑战。我们还初步探索了高斯泼溅作为补充表征技术的实验。最终生成的数字档案服务于多种保护目的，包括灾害恢复文献记录、保护分析、虚拟旅游和学术研究。本工作为从事类似大规模建筑文献记录项目的遗产保护专业人员提供了可复制的详细工作流程，解决了在复杂真实世界遗产场景中应用摄影测量方法的实际挑战。