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Dahua secures UNESCO site

For such a national treasure as the Duomo di Monreale in Sicily, it is of utmost importance that it should be protected with the best and most modern technology in an invisible manner. In this case, Dahua and its megapixel solutions were selected to provide surveillance. The project was successfully accomplished in cooperation with Videotrend s.r.l, Dahua’s local distributor.

According to UNESCO, as one single country, Italy has the greatest number of heritage sites in the world. The island of Sicily, off the south of Italy, is home to a great portion of these historical monuments, and among them, Duomo di Monreale Cathedral is one of the most outstanding examples that is not to be missed.

Famed for its golden mosaics, Duomo di Monreale Cathedral was built in the 12th century as part of a grand royal complex, and perfectly fuses Byzantine, Arab and Norman styles. Both its exterior and interior decoration, including its bricks, mosaics, and bronze doors represent a magnificent demonstration through the rivers of time.

While considering the solution scheme, the main priority to bear in mind was to maintain the historical characteristic of the building and IP technology was undoubtedly the best way forward as it allows for minimum cabling and is less invasive, ensuring that the delicate and subtle décor and surroundings of the cathedral remained intact. Moreover, due to the dim lighting inside, the camera’s low illumination performance needed to be excellent.

Taking all of these considerations into account, eight units of the Dahua 1.3 MP IR dome cameras were used, and the resulting video streams are processed through a PoE switch to a 16-channel network video recorder NVR, where images are stored in HD quality at 720p, with recording bandwidth of up to 32 Mb/s at 20fps.

As for the exterior, the Dahua 1.3 MP mini IR-bullet camera was installed for its discreet appearance and superior night vision performance. Additionally, as requested by the client, the system runs Dahua PSS, a central management system to view images both locally and remotely via ADSL/3G connections. Moreover, the system as a whole is cascaded to its upper platforms of the Monreale Archdiocese and the data is able to be transmitted to other public as well as private organisations in order to better promote Sicilian culture and tourism.

“It means a lot for us to be involved in this project as Duomo di Monreale Cathedral is not only a landmark, but also a spiritual symbol in Sicily,” said Pasquale Totaro, president of Videotrend S.r.l. “Given its historical value, we approached the planning and installation very cautiously, and now the cathedral is secured with modern technology without any damage, and the feedback is quite good.”

“It is great to know that our products can bring benefits to this fantastic architecture thanks to our good partner Videotrend and the local installer Decibel,” said Elmer Zhang, sales director of Europe at Dahua Technology. “We are very happy that our brand has such a positive acceptance in Italy, and actually, together with Videotrend, we have already accomplished many great projects, such as the F1 sportspark and Pescara harbour. I am confident to say that with our continuous joint effort and exciting new products to launch, Dahua will definitely continue to secure this beautiful country with its growing power.”

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