Fun with Haltadefinizione

Someone at church shared this site with me several months ago. It’s quite incredible. You can view some art masterpieces online which, no matter how much you magnify the image (to a point, of course – not looking at atoms here…), the picture is not grainy. The technology is explained on the site. They take extremely magnified photographs of the work then digitally stitch them together. Haltadefinizione is in Italian, but if you look at the upper right hand corner of the screen you will see “it | en | es” and you can choose “en” for English (If you are so inclined; Simona, I know you know Italian!). Here’s the blurb from the site:

The Haltadefinizione project was initially conceived from the idea of the digital picture: herewith a gallery of extremely high definition images of the greatest treasures in the history of art. Thanks to the cooperation of several important International technological partners, Haltadefinizione has created a sophisticated process of digital imaging and photography, certified by the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, resulting in reproductions of these timeless treasures of art in the sharpest and finest of detail. The images of Haltadefinizione effectively support scientific surveys of restoration, and find application in areas of study dedicated to the enhancement and promotion of the art historical heritage.

Stages of the “stitching” technique: