Andria Cathedral Protects Relics with Milestone and Sony Video Surveillance

Milestone Systems open platform IP video management software (VMS) is being used with Sony network cameras by the Andria Cathedral in Italy for security surveillance and to display religious services to congregations sitting in the chapel and side naves to the central church.

The Cathedral of Andria rests in the Puglia Region of Southern Italy, an artistic and historic treasure for which a video surveillance system was requested. Dating from the 12th century, the cathedral contains a famed precious relic, and holds the tombs of two wives of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, a 13th century icon of the Madonna, and a 15th century bust of Francesco II del Balzo, Duke of Andria.

Given the importance of the building and its historical treasures, church authorities commissioned a special technologically advanced surveillance system for the main goal of monitoring the premises during night conditions. Side benefits were quickly found for faithful visitors of the services.

The Andria Cathedral has been equipped with 32 Sony video cameras, fixed and Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) models, both High Definition (HD) and full HD. Thanks to special infra-red LEDs, the cameras achieve night vision even in pitch darkness.

The video from all of the cameras is archived in Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS) and viewed live through the XProtect Smart Client interface. In addition to serving as daytime and night-time security video, the system allows church-goers in the lateral naves to see the religious functions held in the presbytery and side chapel, displaying the live images of the services to the adjacent areas.

The images are relayed to six 40" screens attached to the central columns of the cathedral, which can also be video-projected in a large adjoining chapel. The system can furthermore be used to show DVDs, audio/video guides, cultural and tourist presentations - a benefit that is much appreciated by visitors.

Operating in sites of major historic and cultural significance is especially satisfying, all the more so in cases like this where the religious dimension is deeply important," explains Alfredo Donadei, Senior Channel Account Manager, Video Security, Sony Europe. The solution has been designed and installed in the cathedral by Tecnoimpianti Pizzolorusso, with whom we have a long-standing collaboration. The system stores all the video surveillance data in a special server, managed by Milestone XProtect Professional software. For even greater security and data management, the server has been equipped with 4 hard discs of various capacities, configured in RAID modality.

The church authorities are extremely satisfied, not only with the security performance of the system, but also with the extraordinary quality of the images transmitted, says both Gianluca and Francesco Pizzolorusso, owners of Tecnoimpianti Pizzolorusso Srl. Sony is a worldwide benchmark performer in the field of video surveillance, and we chose the cameras for their outstanding image quality, unobtrusive equipment and unbeatable price-quality ratio.

Featured

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services
  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

New Products

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.