WINGS Data Release: a database of galaxies in nearby clusters
  [Abridged] To effectively investigate galaxy formation and evolution, it is
of paramount importance to exploit homogeneous data for large samples of
galaxies in different environments. The WINGS (WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster
Survey) project aim is to evaluate physical properties of galaxies in a
complete sample of low redshift clusters to be used as reference sample for
evolutionary studies. The WINGS survey is still ongoing and the original
dataset will soon be enlarged with new observations. This paper presents the
entire collection of WINGS measurements obtained so far. We decided to make use
of the Virtual Observatory (VO) tools to share the WINGS database (that will be
regularly updated) with the community. In the database each object has one
unique identification (WINGSID). Each subset of estimated properties is
accessible using a simple cone search (including wide-field images). We provide
the scientific community the entire set of wide-field images. Furthermore, the
published database contains photometry of 759,024 objects and surface
brightness analysis for 42,275 and 41,463 galaxies in the V and B band,
respectively. The completeness depends on the image quality, and on the cluster
redshift, reaching on average 90% at V<= 21.7. Near infrared photometric
catalogs for 26 (in K) and 19 (in J) clusters are part of the database and the
number of sources is 962,344 in K and 628,813 in J. Here again the completeness
depends on the data quality, but it is on average higher than 90% for J<=20.5
and K<=19.4. The IR subsample with a Sersic fit comprises 71,687 objects. A
morphological classification is available for 39,923 galaxies. We publish
spectroscopic data, including 6,132 redshifts, 5,299 star formation histories
and 4,381 equivalent widths. Finally, a calculation of local density is
presented and implemented in the VO catalogs for 66,164 galaxies.
