Accessibility of hypogeal heritage: identification of key factors by case study cataloguing and text mining.

The hypogeal architectural heritage encompasses a considerable amount of assets that are dispersed and often disconnected at the territorial scale, making assessment and control activities challenging, particularly due to their limited accessibility. This is determined by a series of conditions, including remote location of sites; structural instability and environmental discomfort posing risks to visitors; management choices; incompatibility between human presence and the preservation of cultural assets; and, the lack of information and cultural promotion initiatives. The proper identification of key intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determine these conditions is a crucial preliminary step for devising compatible strategies of utilization and enhancement. In this context, the paper outlines an operational workflow for investigating hypogeal heritage, with a particular focus on conditions of accessibility, and subsequently identifying key factors through the analysis of descriptive texts from cataloguing sheets using data mining techniques. The application to over one fifty sites with religious functions (crypts, shrines, caves) in the Puglia and Basilicata regions of southern Italy allows for the construction of a methodological baseline for expeditious analysis. Furthermore, the research explores how long-term monitoring of accessibility factors can be enhanced by integrating additional sources, such as institutional databases (national charts and inventories of cultural assets) and user-generated contents within web platforms (Google Maps, TripAdvisor). Finally, the study offers preliminary insights on the exploitation of digital technologies for public access and enjoyment of low accessible hypogeal architectural heritage.