  We present an extensive optical and near-infrared photometric and
spectroscopic campaign of the type IIP supernova SN 2012aw. The dataset densely
covers the evolution of SN 2012aw shortly after the explosion up to the end of
the photospheric phase, with two additional photometric observations collected
during the nebular phase, to fit the radioactive tail and estimate the
$^{56}$Ni mass. Also included in our analysis is the already published
\textit{Swift} UV data, therefore providing a complete view of the
ultraviolet-optical-infrared evolution of the photospheric phase. On the basis
of our dataset, we estimate all the relevant physical parameters of SN 2012aw
with our radiation-hydrodynamics code: envelope mass $M_{env} \sim 20 M_\odot$,
progenitor radius $R \sim 3 \times 10^{13}$ cm ($ \sim 430 R_\odot$), explosion
energy $E \sim 1.5$ foe, and initial $^{56}$Ni mass $\sim 0.06$ $M_\odot$.
These mass and radius values are reasonably well supported by independent
evolutionary models of the progenitor, and may suggest a progenitor mass higher
than the observational limit of $16.5 \pm 1.5 M_\odot$ of the Type IIP events.
