| Dallmeier's CCTV systems were installed at the Museum to implement the appropriate security standards |
The Museum Nicolaiano is located close to the centuries-old Basilica of Saint Nicolas. It bears its name in honour of the patron saint of the South Italian city. In order to ensure that the valuable exhibits are secure the museum was equipped with a state-of-the-art high performance video surveillance system. Professional high-value CCTV systems by the German manufacturer Dallmeier were installed to implement the appropriate security standards.
Success story:
The Museum Nicolaiano in the Apulian city of Bari is one of the main attractions of the "Cittadella Nicolaiano" borough, which is known for being an area of religious, tourist and cultural interest. Apart from the Basilica, the citadel also includes the Church of San Gregorio, the "San Nicola" school, the columned hall "Portico deil Pellegrini", which is today used for exhibitions, as well as the priory palace "Palazzo Priorale", the affiliated monastery and other surrounding buildings. Some of those buildings are privately owned. Entering the Citadella Nicolaiano from the seafront, the museum is situated on the right. Historically important works of art, dating from the era of Byzantine rule up to the present day, that come from the basilica are exhibited there.
Among the most important exhibits are liturgical vestments and insignia, paintings, icons and architectural fragments. The importance of the items is either due to their religious or artistic historical significance. The museum also has a multimedia area with a touch-screen and a projection room for tourists, pilgrims and students. There, an interactive approach is taken to communicate religious, historical, artistic and ecumenical contents. Those include the biography of Saint Nicolas, the translation of his relics, the history of the basilica, and their connections with the city of Bari and Europe as well as, predominantly, the ecumenical role between the catholic occident and the orthodox orient. The museum, designed for an international audience, is equipped with modern audio guides with texts in Italian, English, German and Russian.
Dr. Francesco Rana, responsible for the museum's security, explains: "With the UWDR technology (Ultra Wide Dynamic Range) the Dallmeier cameras have an advantage compared to all previously known methods. They can capture significantly more details in the shadow areas and the extremely bright areas of an image. They produce high-contrast and true-colour images without any blooming or smearing even under the most difficult lighting conditions. My approach is aimed at creating and fostering an awareness for security related issues. Not only with the security personnel but also the entire staff and, in particular, the administration of the museum. The idea was to make clear that the technologies are meant to protect the works of art and the buildings. The technologies are not meant to be used to merely reconstruct events."
The director of the museum Alessio Romano is highly satisfied with the image quality and professionalism of the company Dallmeier. Through Dallmeier's official Italian representation and with the help of the local partner company Delta System Technology the museum received comprehensive support in choosing a solution that would best meet the specific requirements of museum security.
| The DMS 240 enables simultaneous recording, streaming, archiving, live display and playback of all images |
"I was involved in the entire project, from the project planning to the realisation of this video surveillance at the museum. It is a system based on the DDF3000APV Picodome® and the DF3000AS-DN cameras and the fourth-generation recorder DMS240 "In Memory of Leonardo". I feel closely connected to the city of Bari and its patron Saint Nicolas. And so the fact that the museum is protected by Dallmeier technology has deeply moved me and I am very happy about it," says Pierpaolo Piracci from Dallmeier Italia.
Particularly detailed images owing to Cam_inPIX® technology
Dallmeier consciously decided to use the DDF3000APV Picodome® and DF3000AS-DN cameras with Cam_inPIX® technology. With the innovative sensor concept of Cam_inPIX® technology the picture information of each individual pixel is converted digitally at the point of capture and processed in the most optimal way. Therefore, even situations with a great range in contrast can be recorded and documented in previously unseen picture quality.
Reliable recording
The camera images are recorded on a Dallmeier DMS 240 recorder. Those systems of the "In Memory of Leonardo" series are equipped with up to 24 channels, support the MPEG-4, MJPEG and H.264 compression methods and are characterised by the `PentaplexPlus´ functionality, an advancement of the previous `Pentaplex´ functionality.
The DMS 240 enables simultaneous recording, streaming, archiving, live display and playback of all images - either locally or via network. If necessary, the DMS can also be remotely configured and decoded via LAN or WAN. Every channel can be recorded with up to 25fps in D1 with IP cameras or with 12fps in 4CIF with analogue cameras. The operating system Linux, which is stored on a Flash memory guarantees highest reliability. Three high-performance fans with automatic rotation speed control ensure optimal ventilation. In the case of a hard disk failure the Easy-Change functionality is used. Through an easy and user-friendly hard disk exchange at the front of the DMS it allows for quick and straightforward maintenance.