Digital Heritage. Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation, and Protection

This paper shows the results of research advances on complex vaulted systems produced by the integration of laser scanner survey techniques and three-dimensional modeling for the geometric interpretation of built architecture to recognizing the geometric matrices of the design conception. The integration between TLS techniques and digital modeling methods led to the definition of new workflows, aimed at optimizing the use of data and at refining the quality of the geometrical interpretation. The process incorporates the traditional activities of freehand drawing of eydotipes, aimed at a deep understanding of the peculiar characteristics of the artifact. In particular, from these procedures new opportunities for the research arise to better understand the relationships between survey data, geometric matrices and compositional rules.The case study presented here, the atrium of Palazzo Mazzonis in Turin was chosen among a small number of atria that present characteristics of originality and uniqueness in a panorama of realizations strongly characterized by compliance with well-established compositional schemes.

The article reports on both past and ongoing work in such research projects as SCAN4RECO or ARCH, both funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program. The former one concerns multi-modal and multi-spectral scanning of Cultural Heritage (CH) assets for their digitization and conservation via spatio-temporal reconstruction and 3D printing, while the latter one aims to support better preservation of cultural heritage areas from hazards and risks, both natural and human-borne ones. Both projects have adopted co-creation methodologies to help pilot hosts (preservation institutions and cities) to save their cultural heritage from the effects of progressing climate change effects. This included developing disaster risk management frameworks for assessing and improving the resilience of historic areas to climate change and natural hazards. Tools and methodologies have been designed for local authorities and practitioners, urban population, as well as national and international expert communities, aiding authorities in knowledge-aware decision making. In this article we focus on presenting novel approaches to performing 3D modelling of object geometry using 3D photogrammetric methods using autonomous and automatic control systems for achieving very high model accuracies using consumer types of devices, attractive both to professions and hobbyists alike. We also present practically adopted approaches for remote monitoring of weather and climate effects in local and global scales as well as means of assessing possible negative effects that such natural climatic effects might pose on the level and speed of degradation of Cultural Heritage.

The combination of thermographic and geometric recording has always been an issue for architectural heritage diagnostic investigations. Multidisciplinary projects often require integrating multi-sensor information—including metric and temperature data—to extract valid conclusions regarding the state-of-preservation of historical buildings. Towards this direction, recent technological advancements in thermographic cameras and three-dimensional (3D) documentation instrumentation and software have contributed significantly, assisting the rapid creation of detailed 3D thermal-textured results, which can be exploited for non-destructive diagnostical surveys. This paper aims to briefly review and evaluate the current workflows for thermographic architectural 3D modeling, which implement state-of-the-art sensing procedures and processing techniques, while also presenting some applications on case studies of significant heritage value to help discuss current problems and identify topics for relevant future research.

The enhancement of digital technologies, the diffusion of the crowdsensing paradigm envisage useful applications to cultural heritage and depict novel approaches to the condition assessment and forms of conservation and preventive conservation. A large amount of inhomogeneous data is available to the community and, therefore, effective and reliable tools able to facilitate their processing and management are needed to design proper safeguarding and valorization measures. The present paper discusses a methodology that integrates traditional approaches for the knowledge and condition assessment of cultural heritage with those based on well-known web applications available at a large scale on different devices. In other terms, it investigated the feasibility and the reliability of the crowd-sourcing paradigm applied to the acquisition of data related to the current condition of architectural and valuable assets. The methodology is applied to two relevant but different examples of the International cultural heritage, for which a flexible and scalable database has been populated. Processing of data provides encouraging results both in the area of the indirect survey and preventive conservation.

Porta Tiburtina is a historic gate within the Aurelian walls in Rome. It is connected to an ancient Augustan arch that carried three aqueducts. This arch served as an opening to an ancient street, Via Tiburtina, that connected Rome, and Tivoli. This paper describes the methodology used to understand this vast subject of the practice of Heritage Conservation in the context of the regular practice of architecture that has either been largely misunderstood or, at worse, regarded as architecture with an outdated twist. It focuses on a three-stage study process starting from the current state, followed by an elaborate historical data collection that leads to the declaration of the need for an intervention. Phase I talks about the awareness of the current context, both urban and structural, with architectural features that are key to acknowledging the threats and dangers to the monument. The next phase focuses on historical data collection and arrangement that helps understand the value lost on the monument and documents every change and transformation it has been through to make a more informed decision. The final stage is a proposed project plan that tends to be respectful, minimal, and in-context. It demonstrates the value of a methodology organized on an individually tested analysis to explore and confirm different aspects of the historic development of the monument. The main question it tries to answer is, how does an architect decide whether to conserve, preserve, restore, while retaining its material authenticity, and the memory and identity of the monument?

Soil erosion is one of the most significant environmental issues, as it seriously threatens archaeological sites and monuments. In recent years, several models have been used in the in the relevant scientific literature in order to estimate soil erosion rates. The models range from empirical to physical or process-based and differ significantly in complexity, accuracy, inputs and outputs. Among these, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) has become the most commonly used in different environmental conditions and on varying scales.The present study calculates average annual soil erosion in terms of spatial and temporal patterns based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the area of Paphos District. This study also implemented satellite remote sensing images and available data sources such as meteorological data, a digital elevation model (DEM), land use and soils maps for soil erosion analysis. The whole methodology is based on the estimation of soil loss per unit area and takes into account specific parameters such as rainfall factor, steepness and slope length factor, cover management, practice factor as well as soil erosion factor. The results indicate that the mean annual soil erosion was estimated from 0 to 235.532 t/ha.

The specific paper forms part of the Postdoctoral Research Project (Implemented by Athina Chroni, Dr. Archaeologist, supervised by Professor Andreas Georgopoulos, Laboratory of Photogrammetry-National Technical University of Athens.) focusing on Ioannina city’s Ottoman period (1430–1913) and its multicultural profile as depicted in buildings, public or private, religious or secular, conventional or more elaborate, each having its own historical and architectural interest.Unfortunately, most of the landmark buildings have been destroyed due to natural disasters, religious hatred and the unbridled, often uncontrolled modern constructions. However, the existence and form of several of those edifices survived thanks to fragmentary information of various kinds, while their location in the urban web and their dimensions can be clarified, in several cases, by their comparative studies with buildings recorded at the same representations whose location and dimensions are known or buildings preserved until today.Under this perspective, a variety of data like historiographic, bibliographic, archaeological, cartographic, topographic, remote sensing imagery, optical displays, travelers’ descriptions, other literary sources, local legends, inhabitants’ interviews have been collected, analyzed, cross-examined and digitally processed, thus leading to the development of a Geographic Information System, the 3D landmarks digital models, a web data base and QR tags at the specific sites, where the landmark buildings used to stand, thus connecting the intangible (digital) with the tangible (physical space) and achieving interaction of the project with the local community. Moreover, cultural walks within the city's urban web, related to the project’s axis are also proposed.

Today, digital technologies represent an important tool for emergency preparedness of any heritage at risk. The use of devices such as 3D modeling makes it possible to have an endangered heritage recognized. This paper deals with the terrestrial laser scanning survey (TLS) using AutoCAD and point clouds for calculating deformations of cultural heritage structures. In doing so, this study focuses on one of historic key buildings – that look very vulnerable –, in Sétif’s city in Algeria: the minaret of El Atik’s mosque. A major novelty is the use of cross section method based directly on high accuracy model generated from the point clouds. This method is used to determine the tilted direction and tilted distance along the tower of the minaret of El Atik’s mosque regarding to the main axis of its base.

The paper intends to define the different levels of quality models achieved to assess architectural heritage in fragile contexts as the earth quaked territories, proposing to reverse the BIM logic ‘simple-to-complex’ in favor of a complex-to-simplex one targeted to HBIM. In order to perform a preservation plan, given the complexity of a damaged heritage, the simplification can’t be the starting point, but the synthesis of the detailed levels of understanding obtained: the case study of St. Francesco church, damaged by the earthquake occurred in 2016, is presented to highlight the deliverables submitted as part of the support to the preliminary preservation design project and decision-making process carried out by the research group of the Politecnico di Milano for the Municipality of Arquata del Tronto. The high level of geometry description acquired by the surveying (TLS, MMS, Photogrammetry) has been finalized to analyze the out-of-plumbs and structural behavior, enriched by the diagnostic analysis detecting the materials and construction techniques, supported the recognition of the stratigraphic volume units and construction phases to better understand the transformations across the centuries integrating the direct data sources with the indirect ones (documents, archives). While in the traditional BIM logic the level of enrichment progressively crosses the Level of Development phases (LOD100-500) by adopting a progressive parallel Level of Geometry (LOG100-500), the paper proposes scales model definition (GOA100-50-20-10) and LOG specifications adapted to the LOD (Design Development, Preservation Plan) reversing the logic and introducing a synthesis model that collects the different analysis, a wrap-up model, to be used together with the detailed high scale models (LOG200-300-400-100), for BIM-to-FEA or BIM energetic analysis, and within LOD600 VR.

The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2003. An international safeguarding campaign is active for its preservation, including the remains of the Buddha figures destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Efforts are underway to set up an effective management system for the historical areas within a wider landscape approach balancing conflicting uses and demands. Based on detailed high-resolution satellite imagery and accompanying ground surveys, a comprehensive inventory of vernacular settlements, traditional water systems, and historic cultural remains was compiled. The Bamiyan Cultural Masterplan has been elaborated as a zoning proposal to support future planning processes in Bamiyan. A GIS System has been set up to manage planning and monitoring activities in the future. The current condition of the archaeological remains of Bamiyan has been documented with different remote sensing and high precision 3D documentation methods. Within cultural heritage management, Virtual Reality technologies are an innovative approach for documentation and presentation of complex architectural objects, especially in landscape settings. The project includes a digital reconstruction of the destroyed Small Buddha (38 m) Figure of Bamiyan integrated into the high-resolution 3D model of the niche and the cliff. The composite model of previous and actual conditions serves as a communication and planning tool for future consolidation for experts and the interested public.

The submerged harbor of Amathus in Cyprus is a sensitive cultural heritage requiring special attention in the frame of Marine Spatial Planning. The monitoring of water depth in the surrounding area can raise awareness on effects, such as shoreline erosion, which could lead to a deterioration of the relics.This paper assesses the quality of bathymetric maps around the site derived from the DESIS hyperspectral sensor mounted on the International Space Station. The depth values are compared to products derived from traditional multispectral sensors, and assessed with LiDAR measurements acquired in situ. An imaging spectrometer such as DESIS would be able to derive additional water quality parameter such as phytoplankton concentration, assessing at the same time eutrophication and pollution in this sensitive area.

Climate change is posing new challenges to cultural landscapes. Indeed, rapid climate modifications can significantly interfere with the link existing between natural and man work, typical of cultural landscapes. This problem is even more fundamental for areas characterized by accelerated climatic changes, like the Mediterranean one. For those regions the definition of a proper methodology for sensitivity evaluation to land degradation is a key element to promote new conservation/valorization strategies and policies. This work presents a new methodology integrating GIS and Remote Sensing with environmental models to simulate land degradation processes and to provide a comprehensive index (Integrated Desertification Index, IDI) of desertification for the Apulia region in Southern Italy. After an extensive analysis of both the conditions and the evolution of natural features in the study area, through spatial data investigation, a set of appropriate indicators of land degradation have been identified on the basis of their applicability and sensitivity to environmental processes. The following five indicators were considered: overgrazing pressure, drought pressure, water erosion, vegetation condition and soil salinity. To evaluate them both existing Open GIS and statistical data, as well as Remote Sensing images have been combined into a unique indicator to evaluate the most vulnerable areas to land degradation in the Apulia region.

This paper presents how the EXSELSIOR H2020 Teaming project will support the management and monitoring of the cultural heritage domain through its research and innovation agenda within the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa (region known as EMMENA). The pressing need for protecting the cultural heritage assets is highlighted throughout the document by reviewing the conducted research work in key funded projects attained in the past by the Cyprus University of Technology team in collaboration with EXCELSIOR’s partners.

The city is an entity with both tangible and intangible cultural heritage values. It is impossible to think of cultural heritage values ​​independently of the city in smart cities designed to overcome the challenges that arise for all stakeholders and elements of the city from global urbanization, technological innovations, and various urban policies. Cities that transform rapidly should aim to change without becoming detached from their cultural context. In this study, a route planning proposal based on individual preferences will be developed on how “smart city” strategies can be implemented to strengthen, ensure and protect the interaction between cultural heritage and visitors. To transform cultural heritage values into the “smart” state, their interactions with cultural heritage should be improved through advanced infrastructures in Smart City applications. With this study, the aim is to develop a user-oriented route generator integrated with city transportation data to improve the visitor experience. The Istanbul Esenler District was chosen as the field of study given its important historical and cultural values from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Also, the area has strategic importance as becoming a smart city in Turkey. With the proposed application, the plan is to provide simultaneous information on all cultural heritage values available to the visitor, convey visual information, and provide verbal explanations. At the same time, the route generator enables interaction with cultural heritage by allowing the user to design routes using smart city transportation data for the bus and metro, current location, and travel times.

Recent advances in computer science allowed people to explore new possibilities for the fruition of CH all around the world. The development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the field of territorial systems and the evolution of Virtual Reality (VR) solutions opened new scenarios for the valorization of cultural goods. At the same time, recent advances in digital photogrammetry and 3D interactive navigation models on WEB-based on WebGL technologies offered new opportunities of digital fruition of CH. Considering this panorama, the presented work shows how the integration of these technologies gives a precious added value to the virtual fruition of CH. In particular, it has been considered a cultural path in the La Loggia district, located into the historic centre of Palermo. This area is rich in monuments, many of them not accessible to the public, within the I-ACCESS European Project. The starting idea was to enlarge and diffuse, as much as possible, the accessibility to the knowledge of cultural goods in a virtual way, stimulating at the same time their real fruition. The developed solution implemented a GIS platform HTML 5 based and freely available online from desktop and mobile devices. In the virtual tour, everyone could navigate inside the cultural path, accompanied by touristic information, and come and visit the indoor environments of the main monuments. This work offers a new approach to accessibility and represents an example of how new technologies could support the diffusion of knowledge of CH.

Project Kirini is an autonomous interactive indoor exhibit, which utilizes the technologies of projection mapping and physical computing to highlight the cultural heritage of beekeeping in the island region of Cyclades in Greece. The team members researched and collected material on the tradition and the techniques of beekeeping from the ancient times until today through bibliographies and physical interviews. After the completion of the research and organization of the information, the team designed four different types of interactive scenarios. Through a set of formative evaluations, several issues comments and ideas emerged and iteratively implemented to enhance the prototype. Having gathered the results and the conclusions from the evaluations an interactive exhibit was produced and installed in public space.

In Indonesia there are more than 600 ethnic groups and 719 mother-tongue languages spoken. A significant 13 Indonesian mother-tongue languages have vanished and been forgotten as they are no longer used for daily communication. When a language is forgotten, not only is the structural aspect of the language lost, which becomes the main focus of the linguistic domain, but also the cultural and historical knowledge that is attached to the language. The Balinese language is a mother-tongue spoken on the islands of Bali and Lombok, and the Balinese script (Aksara Bali) is a traditional script that is used to write the Balinese language in the form of Balinese short stories, history (itihasa), proverbs, poetry, music, and spells (mantra) on the top of palm leaves (lontar). Recently, fewer members of the young generation of Balinese are able to speak this language due to its complexity and the widespread use of the national language (Bahasa Indonesia) in all levels of formal education. This study aims to preserve, protect, and continue the use of Balinese language and script by adopting modern technology that can be utilized by the younger Balinese generation. In this study, a physical non-QWERTY keyboard specifically for Balinese script has been designed, developed, and tested to work for multiple devices (e.g., computer, tablet, and smartphone), diverse operating systems (e.g., Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android), and various applications (e.g., Word processor, instant messenger, and social media applications). Through consultation with professors from Udayana University with expertise in Balinese language and script, a total of 89 out of 185 Balinese scripts are included in our IT artefact that can be utilized for daily use.

Augmented reality applications provide new ways of presenting cultural heritage assets thanks to the recent advancement in the field of smart devices. Unfortunately, the construction of the hardware and lower computational power of mobile processors limit the potential of these applications. Namely, almost all current visual-inertial odometry libraries employed in smartphones require the real tracked objects to be close and contain distinguishable features, which is an issue when observing large virtual structures outdoors like historical buildings or objects on plain walls of halls or museums. This paper exploits the possibility of using the face cameras available in mobile devices for augmented reality tracking. It designs a prototype composed of iPhone and iPad devices and evaluates its contribution in two scenarios that current systems cannot handle. The results reveal the clear benefit of this approach for the cultural heritage, allowing it to operate in situations when users look up in the sky to see the roof of virtual buildings, or when they move closer to a white wall to perceive details of a virtual painting. In the end, the paper discusses the system’s limitations and proposes solutions to them.

The purpose of this paper is the investigation of the performance of four well-established commercial and open-source software packages for automated image-based 3D reconstruction of complex cultural and natural heritage sites, i.e., Agisoft Metashape, RealityCapture, MicMac and Meshroom. The case study is part of the inaccessible giant rock of St. Modestos, in the archaeological site of Meteora. In terms of computational time, the commercial software packages were the most time-efficient solutions, with Metashape being the fastest one. They also have a friendlier user interface, which makes them adoptable even by non-photogrammetrists. Αll four solutions yielded approximately comparable results in terms of accuracy and may be used for generation of 3D dense point clouds of complex sites. With the exception of Meshroom, they may produce georeferenced results. Also, with the exception of MicMac, which did not yield satisfactory results in terms of textured mesh, they may be used for generating photorealistic 3D models. The comparative analysis of the results achieved by the tested software will serve as the basis for establishing photogrammetric pipelines that may be generally used for 3D reconstruction of complex geometries.

The paper describes a laboratory experiment carried out at Lawrence Technological University - College of Architecture and Design. The project assumes that the ubiquity of digital technologies in the framework of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has an important potential for the conservation of Cultural Heritage. The enhancement of digital resources, the possibility to access data simulation, and the availability of new construction tools such as robots allow for restoration methods to be augmented by digital data. In the current technological ecosystem, Cultural Heritage can benefit from digital information and digital fabrication, to achieve both digital and tangible conservation. The experiment simulates an on-site robotic fabrication process by imagining an integration of machines in the conservation building site. An industrial robot was used to operate within vertical and horizontal constraints on irregular surfaces to fabricate the missing volume of a wall gap. An abandoned church in Detroit downtown was used as a test case. A methodological workflow emerged from the research process and was evaluated as a proof of concept.

Nowadays building works, especially of historic buildings with facades out of natural stone, require continuous maintenance, repair and retrofit works. In order to fulfill the needs for a completely digitized natural stone retrofit process, works are to be projected, planned, conducted and cleared with instrumentation of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Due to this need, a novel knowledge-based stone damage identification system focused on natural stone damage on the basis of BIM is developed, which will present implicitly existing knowledge and information from the building survey explicitly and objectively by using semantic data structures. BIM-SIS is an adaptive damage identification system for natural stone, which allows to virtually merge different natural stone damages, recorded by different information systems and with different procedures, into a holistic damage model. This model is used to assess the damages integrative and in detail, supported by knowledge-based methods, and to develop a uniform and cost-stable remediation strategy. Therefore, the BIM-SIS methodology consists of BIMification for information processes, Ontologies for knowledge representation and Multimodels for data interoperability. The so formed continuous interoperable digital construction representation consists of separate but interlinked domain models. This model structure is then extended for remediation execution management and allows to simply incorporate subsequently detected defects during execution. The complete damage profile is the basis for all further retrofit-creation and calculation processes in BIM-SIS which will automatically lead to user customized retrofit variants presented in VR and AR.

PAGODE is a new project started on the 1st of April 2020, which proposes a thematic approach for aggregation, curation and presentation of Chinese cultural content hosted in European museums and Cultural Heritage Institutions (CHIs). The project aims to offer an innovative experience by making this content available in Europeana, the European digital library. PAGODE will aggregate to Europeana more than 10,000 newly digitised objects, annotate more than 2,000 digital objects that are already in Europeana, enrich automatically the metadata of more than 20,000 records, and activate a wide range of CHIs to plan new digitization and curation of relevant content from their collections. Focusing on the various forms of the presence of Chinese culture in Europe, the overall objective of PAGODE is to add further value to CHIs that own Chinese collections, to reach new end users, and to encourage creative use and reuse of cultural content in the domains of multicultural integration, cultural tourism, education and research.

This paper explores the work done so far on creating and using digital data regarding stecci – UNESCO-listed world heritage from medieval Bosnia. Firstly, the paper reveals a slow, but steady progress towards creating a wholistic digital catalogue of all existing stecci necropolises and tombstones. Secondly, it discovers an encouraging trend of innovative research methods for analysing these digital data, as well as for production of digital art inspired by these important monuments. Finally, the paper identifies the main problem that hinders faster progress towards ‘digital stecci’ in the costly and somewhat piecemeal approach evidenced in individual endeavours of scholars, professionals and/or artists. More coordinated effort and teamwork is recommended as a way forward.

This paper presents a research through design exploration using tangible interactions in order to seamlessly integrate technology in a historical house museum. The study addresses a longstanding concern in museum exhibition design that interactive technologies may distract from the artifacts on display. Through an iterative design process including user studies, a co-creation workshop with museum staff and several prototypes, we developed an interactive installation called The Diary of Niels that combines physical objects, RFID sensors and an elaborate fiction in order to facilitate increased visitor engagement. Insights from the research process and user tests indicate that the integration of technology and artifacts is meaningful and engaging for users, and helps introduce museum visitors to the historic theme of the exhibition and the meaning of the artifacts. The study also points to continued challenges in integrating such hybrid experiences fully with the rest of the exhibition.

Museums have now changed their intent and embraced a more “visitor-oriented” approach to provide this unforgettable experience for visitors. Digital museum strategy plays a decisive role in how museums want to use technology to promote innovation network growth, competitive advantage, and economic efficiency. However, it is worth noting that there are still significant gaps in technical equipment between museums. This paper draws on the Museum of the Tate and aims to examine its transformation from a conventional museum to a museum of the 21st century. The case of Tate museum is of particular interest because of its obvious intention to be regarded as a leading museum in Europe, expressed in its current strategic planning policies. This paper also highlights some of the advantages and problems associated with this program and its future directions. This paper examines how Tate has introduced technological systems to turn itself into a virtual museum and succeed in the global economy. This paper aims at examining and explaining a museum’s transformation into a virtual museum. The findings of the case study show that the Tate museum has successfully applied the digital strategy with the goal of being a model for the world of virtual museums. This paper helps cultural practitioners draw more lessons from the proposed key drivers of digital museum strategies and reach conclusions on digital museum planning today.

This paper discusses a simplified workflow and interactive learning opportunities for exporting map and location data using a free tool, Recogito into a Unity game environment with a simple virtual museum room template. The aim was to create simple interactive virtual museums for humanities scholars and students with a minimum of programming or gaming experience, while still allowing for interesting time-related tasks. The virtual environment template was created for the Oculus Quest and controllers but can be easily adapted to other head-mounted displays or run on a normal desktop computer. Although this is an experimental design, it is part of a project to increase the use of time-layered cultural data and related mapping technology by humanities researchers.

This paper presents an Augmented Reality (AR) project for the curation of virtual museum ‘takeouts’ and DIY exhibitions. The project’s outputs include novel AR app technology demonstrators to support co-design with museum users and stakeholders - the goal being to create useful and easy-to-use AR apps for scholars, citizen scientists and the interested public.The apps were designed for users to create, display, animate and interact with exhibitions of selected 3D artefacts that could, for example, reflect academic specialisms for sharing with fellow researchers, support curators in exhibition planning or enable friends and students to share eclectic favourites from museum visits. The overarching project ambition was to create AR apps to support research, engagement and education, and to enable interactive and personalized visualizations of individual artefacts as well as reconstructed forms. As presented in the paper, these forms are exemplified in the AR apps with 3D models of a cuneiform envelope and its tablet contents, viewable either as i) separate artefacts or ii) in their reconstructed enveloped form, with the AR apps enabling animated opening and ‘X-ray views’ of the contents within. In this way, the apps can enable users to visualize individual objects and reconstructions that could, for example, incorporate artefacts held in different museums.

Recent technological advances have greatly affected the museum practice, introducing new and innovative technological solutions for the creation of more interactive, multisensory and experiential museum exhibitions. Virtual reality applications allow museums’ visitors to be fully immersed in interactive adventures and consequently, many museums are focusing their digital strategy on that direction. Meanwhile, the use of serious games technology in museum environments set new perspectives in the educational and the entertaining impact of museums’ experiences. This contribution describes the principles and the guidelines that defined the digital museological design process of the Virtual Museum EPANASTASIS-1821, the development of which is based on the technologies of virtual reality and serious games. The paper indicates how the use of virtual reality and serious games in exhibition design can strengthen designers’ creativity, enhance the interpretation dynamic of the exhibition and the memorization potential and lastly, create memorable museum experiences.

Open and advanced real-time 3D creation tools are continuously evolving, offering new cutting edge solutions to support the creation of immersive virtual experience-oriented to different purposes, devices and users. In recent years, different Virtual and Augmented reality (VR-AR) projects have clearly shown how 3D modelling and Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be the proper bases to enhance the new paradigm of interactivity of 3D informative systems, moving from static models to virtual objects able to interact with the user’s input. For those reasons, this study proposes a method able to give life to 3D survey data and static models, transforming them into interactive virtual objects (IVO) able to enhance the virtual-visual storytelling (VVS) of heritage buildings. This was made possible by the use of novel scan-to-BIM modelling requirements based on the values of scientific drawing, descriptive geometry, historic documentation and digital proxemics. The combination of all these factors has made it possible to achieve new levels of communication and human-VR-computer interaction, favouring documentation, education and learning of tangible and intangible values of our built cultural heritage.

The richness of Greek mythology, combined with the need to preserve and spread the intangible and tangible cultural heritage, constitute the incentives towards the exploration of new ways to narrate these fascinating “stories” and to display their artistic depictions. COSMOS offers the opportunity to record Greek mythology, both in its written and visual forms.COSMOS is developed in two interrelated units, Myths and Art. Each one is organized in three dynamic windows, that visualize the correlations among their basic elements, thus offering a complete picture to the user. Myths include: a) the myths as stories, b) the participating characters and c) the places these stories are set in, whereas, Art includes: a) the portrayals of myths in artworks, b) the depicted characters and c) their original and present location.The implementation is realized by the Knowledge Management System and the Knowledge Presentation System, that make use of state-of-the-art technologies in the fields of Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing and 3D Imaging, in order to visualize myths, artworks and their connections, in an appealing and comprehensible way.The final product addresses to a vast audience and it can be used: a) as a study aid for anyone interested, b) for educational purposes, by teachers and students, c) as a reference tool in the field of the Social Sciences and the Humanities, for the production of research projects, and d) as a scientific documentation tool, for exhibition curating purposes.

The paper presents a mobile location-based app that promotes learning and sensitization about the Tinian marble craftsmanship, which is enlisted to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. It consists of a location-based game and a tour that provide semantic connections to visitors of the museum of Marble Crafts and the settlement of Pyrgos, Tinos island, Greece. The paper presents the game design which emphasizes exploratory learning and storytelling. Furthermore, an evaluation of the game has been conducted with playtesting at the field, with the participation of ten expert users: interaction and game designers, technology developers and cultural heritage professionals.

The objective of this paper is to illustrate the common social need for preservation of Cultural Heritage (CH), through innovative and interactive processes of curation of exhibits and events in places of cultural interest or remotely [1]. Through the project “Narration” we are demonstrating ways for specialized and non-specialized users to create and curate narrations of various extents based on the content available, and share them with the general public. To this extent, the main focus can remain the research of adding an impact in providing a historical and cultural significance by enhancing the understanding and appreciation of cultural values. “Narration” proposes an innovative integrated platform for curating digital exhibitions and cultural content. Through a complex schema of interconnected narrative formations, “Narration” aims to contribute to a better understanding of the cultural and artistic relationships between exhibited objects and cultural heritage collections. Aiming at enhancing the preexisting apprehension on the way cultural heritage items carry valuable and explicable meanings, Narration suggests innovative and holistic curatorial solutions which enrich cultural heritage analysis and experience.

Arising on the island of Crete around 2700 BC, the Minoans are traditionally regarded as the first advanced civilization on the European continent in its modern meaning. The safeguarding of this primordial heritage faces multiple challenges. Besides extrinsic natural and anthropic threats, Minoan remains are also jeopardized by some of their own intrinsic properties. This paper aims to address two of these hazards: first, the preservation state of Minoan sites, leading to their restricted comprehension; secondly, their complex, “labyrinthine”, architecture, further limiting this intelligibility but also challenging the physical access to the remains. The on-going research presented here intends to instrumentalize pathways as a solution to these drawbacks: it seeks to demonstrate that paths can not only be used as mobility vectors to guide and control visitors’ movement but also, when context-aware, as interpretation media to improve on-site experience. Drawing upon phenomenological theories, this paper focusses in particular on the integration of the visitors’ interaction with their surrounding as an innovative approach in the design of such well-informed paths. Based on the outcome of an original experiment conducted among 73 participants on the archaeological site of Malia, this study explores the possibilities of a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis of the visitors’ movement in informing recommendations to increase the visitors’ understanding and orientation abilities on site. The visitors-based approach discussed in this paper is only but one of the three axes to be combined in the general workflow advocated for the formalization of curated visitors’ paths on Minoan archaeological sites.

This paper aims to demonstrate how social participation in culture contributes fostering the resilience of tangible and intangible heritage, and to enhance its preservation and conservation. The REACH Social Platform brings together a wide community of relevant heritage stakeholders’ representatives. They include research communities, heritage practitioners from public and private cultural institutions and organisations as well as policy-makers at European, national, regional and local levels. Based on a focused, critical mapping of existing research and practice, the objective of the Social Platform is to develop a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities for research and innovation in the participatory preservation, (re-)use and management of cultural heritage. The project identifies theoretical participatory models and tests them in practice through four thematic pilots. Final aim of the Social Platform is to propose the adoption of an integrated model of resilient European cultural heritage milieux.

The change and restrictions in how we react with cultural heritage because of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgency in advancing remote and digital access to objects and sites. This paper outlines the process for developing Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) using digital recording and modelling of architectural heritage and archaeology. Virtual Reality (VR) software, game engine platforms and WEB platforms are outlined which can be applied to represent heritage sites in addition to emerging screen based technological learning systems. The application Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) and Game Engine Platforms for creating Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) is also examined. The design-theory based on Virtual Learning Objects for cultural heritage is explored. Two case studies are explored for their potential to create Virtual Heritage Learning Environments. Finally, a design framework is proposed for developing Virtual Heritage Learning Environments.

The aim of our project was to create an interactive museum kit in order to prepare young elementary students for their visit the Industrial Heritage Museum of Hermoupolis, enhancing their experience and promoting a “hands-on” learning approach. This paper presents field research, design decisions and the evaluation of the Ex Machina Museum Kit. The system comprises of 4 tangible team games, 4 documentary-style videos presenting information relative to the theme of the museum’s collections as well as an interactive storytelling and decision-making game. Finally, a preliminary evaluation presents the benefits that this project would provide to the elementary school students visiting the museum.

Creative industries, such as cinematography and videogames, have invaded everyday life, offering fun and entertainment. The progress of immersive technologies provides breathtaking experiences to the users of creative digital productions. Through virtual reality the player can interact with the elements of the virtual world in a physical way. The conversion of games into serious ones, transformed them as innovative educational tools, for training in every scientific field. Cultural Heritage is an inexhaustible source of inspiration that feeds the creative industries with ideas, scenarios, and stories Moreover, the needs for the training of Cultural Heritage professionals and scientists, offer very interesting scenarios that can be implemented by the combination of serious games and virtual reality, under the prism of Lifelong Learning. In this paper, the significant effect of three-dimensional animation, full-immersive serious games, and virtual reality for better understanding, communication, and training in Cultural Heritage is being presented. Three use cases that creative industry and immersive technologies apply on tangible and intangible Cultural Heritage, highlight the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations. In this context, the transformation of historical references into a meaningful three-dimensional video animation production and the design of a full-immersive serious game in VR is the first example. The emblematic Antikythera Mechanism, consists the second use case that led our research team in the creation of the innovative Virtual Museum of the ancient technological achievement. Finally, the design and the execution of Lifelong educational programmes for training in CH through creative industries and immersive technologies is the third use case.

This current study is aimed to demonstrate the application of innovative digital surveying and digital fabrication technologies to physically replicate elements of the wooden heritage structure. During practical part was created and the attested framework included preliminary on-site surveying with pictures processed through Photogrammetry pipeline to document the current state of the prototype element with the 3D model. Then, the virtual model is integrated into an algorithmic modeling program to generate coded milling paths. The result is a ½ scale prototype, crafted by robotic arm technologies from wood stock.

ESTIA is a research and innovation project that aspires to develop a comprehensive platform allowing the forecast, detection and management of incidents that are related with the risk of structural fires within Cultural Heritage (CH) settlements and sites. ESTIA aims to (a) enhance the management and preservation of CH, (b) limit the risks of fire incidents within traditional settlements and CH sites, (c) provide competent authorities with tools for training, coordination and support for an efficient response to fire incidents, (d) effectively protect and guide inhabitants and visitors, (e) suppress structural damages in historic buildings, historic settlements and CH sites and assets, (f) support and promote cultural events and tourism in harmony with the particular requirements of CH preservation. By incorporating advanced procedures for the semi-automatic digitization of the CH built environment as well as an advanced system that simulates the development of the complex phenomena of fire propagation and human crowd behaviour, the platform is an effective tool that on one hand, assists competent authorities in assessing the fire related risks and on the other, serves as a training tool and offers fire management capabilities for first responders and civil protection officers.

The paper deals with the use of photogrammetry based on the structure from motion method to create digital models of surfaces necessary for the study of traces of stonemasons on the surface of stone elements of architectural monuments using traceology and mechanoscopy. The result of the project dedicated to these tool traces will be a knowledge system that will link information about traces with tools, materials, and buildings. This knowledge tool will enable both new ways of asking questions about the development of Prague and better protection of cultural heritage by suggesting suitable restoration intervention technologies.

Ancient structures are a path to understand the cultural heritage and traditions that existed long ago. They become an important link in transferring knowledge from the past to present and future generations. Southern Indian has thousands of temples out of which a few are known for their uniqueness in construction and stability. In this research, a thousand pillar temple built during the 12th century AD in Hanamakonda, Telangana State has been considered. It is the finest example of Kakatiya's architecture, being completely built with stone spreading across the planar dimensions of 34 m × 34 m and a height of 9.5 m. Its foundation is believed to be laid in the sand at a depth of 6 m. A complete three-dimensional finite element numerical model is developed considering all the complex geometries, different types of columns, and mandapas to form the integrated temple model. Stresses in Individual structural elements are calculated to understand the role of complex geometry. Global stresses are computed to understand the load flow and stability of the structure for the gravity analysis.

Masonry arch bridges are known to be the nation’s valuable infrastructure systems for decades especially, in a country like India. Most of the masonry arch bridges prevailing since ancient times are still serviceable which, profoundly indicates their robustness in design and construction methodology. Abandoning such important bridges will influence the transportation practices and economy of the nation. Inadequate proficiency or knowledge of masonry structures and its testing procedures has been the most common reason to abandon them. The absence of proper maintenance and monitoring of the health of heritage structures can lead to deterioration at a much faster pace. In this study, an ancient heritage masonry arch structure ‘PuranaPul’ bridge which was built based on the keystone concept and inaugurated in the year 1578 across the river Musi in Hyderabad was considered for investigation of its health through visual inspection and non-destructive testing (NDT). And the same bridge is numerically modeled using commercially available software ANSYS in three dimensions for assessing the basic mode shapes of the structure.

This paper investigates the methodology of the digital documentation of an ecclesiastical monument in Tochni, Cyprus. The study very briefly describes the architectural history of the monument, as well as the changes that resulted in its current ruined condition. A photogrammetric survey of the monument was conducted to obtain its architectural elements, and subsequently conduct a restoration proposal. The aim of the survey is to investigate the use of photogrammetry using UAVs to examine historical monuments, in order to have a better understanding of the structure and elements that are difficult to measure and study in detail through traditional documentation.

The paper highlights the need for the digitization of cultural heritage to propose the first national mobile geoinformatics application. Unusually varied cultural heritage in the country that strongly relies on tourism income urges the need to build a new, exportable, interactive tool. In that sense, this article demonstrates the process flow in the online cultural map creation and its further development and sustainability. Being the first on market, loaded with data provided by experts from several fields also brings challenges, which this paper elaborates. Hence, a case-study of the ArcGIS Online services usage in the Montenegrin cultural landscape provides a great overview of the issues in drafting a national register of cultural heritage: from technical obstacles, policies of selection until the interpretation of the data and preservation.

Cultural heritage today is endangered by many factors, some natural and most of them anthropogenic. The natural factors include vegetation, growing trees, some disasters, as earthquakes, atmospheric processes, etc. Among the anthropogenic factors there is also related to vegetation – agriculture and the cultivated crops, and related to construction activities and mining. Due to these factors the cultural heritage needs careful preservation and conservation activities and measures. The monitoring is probably the best way to provide a constant or frequent observation of the status and condition of the cultural sites. The provided method for monitoring is based on combination of satellite imagery and aerial photos, GIS mapping and integration of all the data into a geodatabase. The case study in this paper is the first capital of Bulgaria, Pliska, one of the most important archaeological reserves in Bulgaria.

Integrated preservation is an important trend in the maintenance of cultural heritage, and borrowing value is the benchmark. Preserving the tangible and intangible value, counseling public participation and digital technology activation are all important tasks. In the process, mature digital tools are used for dating and assist to strengthen preservation work is an important key internationally at this stage.This research takes the reconstruction of the historical site program- Reconstruction of Qionglin’s Millennium Settlement History as an example to explore how to plan and individually introduce and integrate strategies for digital technology in each project.The results of the study found that the introduction of digital technology into the sub-projects accelerate efficiency but also the effectiveness of the program. At the same time, the results of the program can be integrated through pre-planning and placed on the geographic information system (GIS) platform, fully interactive and efficiently.

Amathus archaeological site is one of the most important monuments (memorials), which remains for up to 2300 years. Last decades, archaeological sites, face anthropogenic and natural disturbances. One of those is the land movements that come from landslides or earthquakes. Improved remote-sensing techniques and new data more contemporary can assist in archaeology because it provides extensive area coverage and access in difficult-to-reach archaeological sites. In the present study, we investigate the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) in land movement estimation near archaeological sites. We applied the D-InSAR (Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) methodology in Sentinel-1 data. These data are free and available from Copernicus Open Access Hub. The methodological framework was implemented in SNAP software (Sentinel Applications Platform), which is free and available from the European Space Agency. The analysis had three main steps: a) to prepare the data and check the suitability, b) the production of the interferogram, and c) the production of displacement map in meter units. The results have shown that in the area of interest, the hazard of land movement is low.The abstract should summarize the contents of the paper in short terms, i.e. 150–250 words.

Heritage structures have a significant role in the nation’s history. They may be acknowledged for several reasons – age, structural magnificence, religious reasons, historical events or persons they hosted, construction challenges they had in era they were built, and so on. Preserving heritage structures is prestigious and challenging task. Furthermore, an accurate knowledge of the behavior of a structure is becoming more important as new construction and conservation techniques are introduced. Historical Structures have been exposed to environmental conditions for very long time leading to the different degrees of malfunctioning at elemental or global level. In order to assess the health of the structure, this paper presents the review on various methodologies adopted by different countries around the world in assessing and monitoring of Heritage structures. Special focus on latest technologies like Artificial intelligence and sensors are discussed to address these challenges. A number of meaningful features have been monitored through extracting from SHM data.

Three-dimensional (3D) representation of cultural heritage in a digital environment is coming into prominence for documentation of geometric and semantic details and the interpretation of shape representation from academic studies to commercial practices. To interpret cultural and historical shapes, the use of the computational medium is expanding with developing technologies. Advanced 3D design and development applications appear every day with distinct functions. However, not every technology provides designers a convenient medium to create, explore, and think naturally. In that sense, digital design mediums and tools become important to enhance the interactivity level with cultural heritage for designers through different interfaces. Particularly, the utilities of design interfaces are essential for preserving reconstructing ruined cultural heritage in the digital design mediums. In this study, we investigate the designers’ creative design process in the context of shape representation methods within the possibilities of two different 3D design interfaces as a computer and virtual reality (VR) interfaces. At first, we conducted a shape exploration exercise to generate the 3D model pieces of the Dark Church in Cappadocia. And then, we used the generated 3D model pieces in a shape representation exercise to observe the seeing, imagining, and acting abilities of designers in computer and VR environments.

The ability to identify the artworks that a museum visitor is looking at, using first-person images seamlessly captured by wearable cameras can be used as a means for invoking applications that provide information about the exhibits, and provide information about visitors’ activities. As part of our efforts to optimize the artwork recognition accuracy of an artwork identification system under development, an investigation aiming to determine the effect of different conditions on the artwork recognition accuracy in a gallery/exhibition environment is presented. Through the controlled introduction of different distractors in a virtual museum environment, it is feasible to assess the effect on the recognition performance of different conditions. The results of the experiment are important for improving the robustness of artwork recognition systems, and at the same time the conclusions of this work can provide specific guidelines to curators, museum professionals and visitors, that will enable the efficient identification of artworks, using images captured with wearable cameras in a museum environment.

The centralization of public data and the adoption of the open data concept are directions on which governors have begun to turn their attention more and more. Unfortunately, although the efforts in this direction are increasing, the Romanian public authorities offer access mainly to semi-structured or unstructured data, which only makes their use more difficult. Only for data on museums and collections in Romania, two web portals are available, a data set in CSV format and a series of other data sets structured according to the LIDO XML Schema. In order to use these data sets, we had to consolidate them using both specific techniques for browsing and pre-processing them, and using the eCHO framework, through which the digital representation of classified cultural assets was migrated to Linked Data. Finally, the data resulting from the consolidation process was used to develop a web application through which users can more easily view this information and, based on it, create their own tourist routes directly from the application.

Today, the availability of digital scanning and computer-aided design and fabrication process open possibilities for automation that allows the reproduction of objects in different formats, facilitating the access to the cultural heritage.Projects as Europeana, the European digital library, and “Horizon 2020 Reflective Societies 7–2014: Advanced 3D modeling for accessing and understanding European cultural assets” confirm this trend in this field.Museums are the places where the concept of “usability” of CH has always been manifested, representing the perfect context to explore the huge potentials of modern technologies of rapid prototyping, which allow quickly reproducing an object from a 3D model, offering new opportunities of experience.The extension of accessibility of CH to disabled people is a current topic of great importance. Physical, sensorial and cultural accessibility are to be considered essential to make the places of culture fully accessible to all visitors (MiBACT).The research focuses on the use of digital fabrication techniques (CNC milling machine) to realize tactile architectural models to enrich the accessibility of Museo di Arte Orientale (MAO) in Turin, in a “Design for All” perspective.The experimentation has been carried out on the vaulted system of the atrium of Palazzo Mazzonis that hosts the MAO.

The present work intends to show a rapid prototyping experience carried out starting from a three-dimensional model realized with the Revit 2021® software of the never realized project of the “Due ville a Capri” by the Turin architect Aldo Morbelli. The scale model was realized through the application of two digital manufacturing techniques: additive, the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), used for the buildings and for the external built elements made of plastic and subtractive, the Laser Beam Machining (LBM), for the slope on which the two buildings stand, realized through the superimposition of cardboard layers.The research after a first phase of redesign of the archival documents of the project in Revit 2021® focused on the preparation of the file for the realization of the real model, defining the printing scale, the materials, the exporting the file in STL format and the necessary operations to repair the file using Autodesk’s software for additive manufacturing, Netfabb®.

The complex approach of Guarini to each discipline (Geometry, Architecture, Philosophy, Astronomy) finds important development in his method of implementing vaulted systems.The importance of this architectural element, which Guarini reminds as “the main part of the buildings”, is reflected in the new taste of the civil architecture of the period.The design by Guarini for the vault in the Hall of Honor in Racconigi Castle is documented in a single drawing representing the hall’s cross-section. Guarini devotes particular attention to the drawing, both from the geometric and the representative point of view.Based on this drawing we want to propose, through the most recent digital modeling and visualization methods, a three-dimensional reconstruction of this unrealized work.The analysis method involves an in-depth examination of: Guarini’s theory and his systematic approach to vaulted structures, linking Architecture and Geometry, the problems of design the artifacts, the comparison with similar shapes designed by the architect.Through a method of representation based on geometrical principles, the aim of this paper is to give evidence – and a three-dimensional visualization – of a case study documented by an archival source, already analyzed by historians.

In the construction community, the BIM approach to design, nowadays, is well-known even if still not completely spread out. Nevertheless, every design team using BIM often seems to act in its own way. In addition, the practical experience of the Con.Si.Lab. Research team, when involved in design projects, is a huge lack of information flow through different design disciplines. This issue has been evaluated as a sensible obstacle towards quality especially in H-BIM projects, where construction site problems could create loss in time and money. The research had therefore the aim to create an original standard information flow, able to structure designers’ relationship starting from an information collection responsibility award given them by the BIM coordinator at the early beginning of design activities, using some dedicated synopsis tables. The team’s research method had an empiric approach through many years of experience in Historical Building construction sites design and management using BIM (i.e. H-CoSIM, Historical Construction Site Information Modelling). The case histories collection enabled the definition of the presented information flow, based up on an ergotechnic parameters list gradually implemented and tested in many different sites. These parameters objects tables have been recently presented at the Italian Standard Body (UNI) in order to be enforced in a new release of the Italian standard UNI 11337, that provides two type of CoSIM: one at the design stage and one at the execution stage.

Since more than 30 years digital 3D modelling methods have been used to support research and education about heritage and history. While an investigation on these topics is usually done from a perspective of digital humanities and cultural heritage, I investigate this topic by employing information studies methods from scientometrics, user behaviour research, and information practices. This article shows research questions and key findings from 15 completed studies that are part of an ongoing postdoc thesis work. Incorporated studies report about scholarly communities, usage practices, methodologies, technologies as well as design implications and educational strategies.

The paper describes the tools for searching and visualizing local and web inventories related to intangible and tangible cultural heritage in the QueryLab platform. The pandemic outbreak has made more evident the need to offer users tools to query and enjoy interesting and educative websites by their homes. The tools presented are useful for users who are not experts in the domain of the inventories, offering predefined queries and semantic query expansion to interact with the archives. The visual suggestions, in the form of word clouds of the tags of the selected archives, help in querying the archives and retrieving the elements that come closest to the user's interests. As one of the QueryLab aims is to continue to add inventories, in the languages they are stored, visual suggestions help to overcome the language distance between the archives and the users to allow an easy and successful interaction. This paper presents QueryLab tools for searching, browsing, and displaying multimedia data, with some preliminary results.

This paper outlines the design of a research that would focus on the Brandberg National Monument Area, in Namibia, Southern Africa. The project seeks to find solutions by use of co-design action research with the local communities within the vicinity of the site and in the country. While an open online database is already available, with an extensive collection of archeological materials found within the site, the project will explore how to re-use and re-purpose such materials to present them not only to researchers and experts, but also to locals and to (international) tourists. In order to do so, local voices are to be fully integrated within the presentation(s), and locals’ involvement will be of the utmost importance to manage communication practices as well as travelers’ flows. The ultimate goal is not only to come up with different digital engagement tools, but also to end up with a digital engagement and governance framework for heritage sites, which could work in the African context.

The coronavirus pandemic, scientifically named Covid-19, was entirely a unique phenomenon that affected the lives of billions of people around the world. The problem persists, with a happy ending not yet fully visible, even if, in due course, medical science discovers ways to reduce or eliminate this pandemic. The negative impact of the disease on people’s lives has been enormous, with millions of dead people, while at the same time it affected the global economy as well as social cohesion, making life difficult for people. Culture was also a major victim of the pandemic, as the direct contacts of artists and experts with the works of art of the world cultural heritage were immediately cut off. Greece felt the negative consequences in this area, as its history and culture are linked to tourism and the promotion of its cultural heritage has suffered a major blow. Masterpieces from the past, of great his-torical importance and aesthetic value, were found in isolation as the difficulties of being approached by the international public seemed to be unsurpassed. However, “Necessity and the gods are convinced”, as the ancient greeks said, so the Greek museums entered-with an unprecedented dynamism- in modern technologies and in the age of digital image, in order not to stop the “contact” of the public with the rich world of art. Therefore, at an extremely fast pace, special virtual tour programs were implemented and displayed in museums and places of culture and as it turned out, the attendance showed high numbers, as the cultural project became a “product” with the aim to be perceived by the cyber public as an intangible object with dimensions outside the “established” aesthetic pleasure. Furthermore, the result is considered to be particularly encouraging as the operation of the museums has acquired a new dynamic, a necessary condition in the functioning of the modern world.

This paper describes the evaluation experiment of the websites of museums’ conservation labs. For this purpose an experiment has been implemented with the participation of 81 subjects and a multi-criteria decision-making model has been used for processing the results and draw conclusions about the electronic presence of the conservation labs of museums. However, the main focus of the paper is on performing a reliability analysis of the whole experiment. This analysis involved two tests, one for examining the reliability of the sample used in the evaluation experiment and another for examining the reliability of the questionnaire provided to the subjects of the evaluation.

Landscape studies have evolved into a significant branch of historical archaeological research, by placing emphasis on the ecological, economic, political and cultural values of pre-modern settled and sacred landscapes. The aim of our work is to support the systematic exploration of landscape archaeology in the Xeros River valley in Cyprus, through time, from prehistory to today, through the design and development of an Augmented Reality (AR) application. The AR application supports the exploration of pre-modern monuments and archaeological sites in the Xeros River valley, serving as a guided tour for visitors of the area. By employing image recognition and utilizing a location-based practice, the application provides the users with an immersive and educational experience. Initial reactions by experts in landscape studies indicate the potential of the application in enabling the narration and visualization of the historicity of the landscape and the fate of religious and other monuments of the past 1500 years.

The Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni is a 6000-year-old Neolithic burial place whose microclimate is threatened by the presence of thousands of visitors all year round. Beyond digital preservation and accessibility, this project aims to provide a highly accessible experience to the virtual tourist or academic. This short paper reports on progress in faithful illumination and acoustics together with navigation aids supported by a real motion platform towards a mixed reality immersive experience. Lightweight variations such as a 360˚ VR film and a 360˚ still-based gaze-driven navigation mobile app further make such precious cultural heritage available to the wider public and serve as a basis for future enhancements towards a more immersive virtual cultural heritage experience.

This paper presents theoretical interpretations and discussions towards informing better contextualisation of displayed museum artefacts that can improve the overall visitors’ experience in museums. The article examines existing academic literature related to interaction principles in museum environments and various models of communication to provide an understanding of the fundamental concept of interpretation when visitors are interfaced with museum objects. Towards enhancing the interaction and interpretation process, the paper posits that gamification and storytelling approaches when mapped against immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience can improve visitors’ motivation and immersion in the context of the presented museum artefacts.

The Creative School project explores the possible mobilisation of digital cultural heritage and engagement with maker spaces models, as tools to create unusual and exciting learning opportunities. The project is developing learning modules for children and school teachers, promoting self-directed learning, critical and visual thinking skills by using cultural heritage content made available by the partner organisations. Its main outputs are: analysis of training and information needs of teachers, educators, children and also parents; development of a set of training materials focusing on the development of thinking skills through engagement with cultural heritage; development of guidelines and recommendations aimed at influencing policy makers and curriculum decision makers. The main beneficiaries of the project include primary and secondary school teachers, who, through engaging with the project will become equipped with the skills necessary to facilitate pedagogical strategies for creativity and critical thinking. Children and young people involved as participants in the Creative School project will develop the skills required to respond to the challenges offered by the Creative School curriculum.

The first Italian University Museums Network has been constituted in 2012 for a first project, approved an financed by the Ministry of the University and Research, coordinated by Modena and Reggio Emilia, in order to monitor the most significant museums collections, to catalog their specimens with the national standard of the Central Institute for the Catalogue and Documentation for the General Catalog of the Italian Cultural Heritage and to create 80 narrative paths dedicated to environments, landscapes, stories, history of scientific instruments. All the paths have been inserted in the bilingual web portal of the Network realized for the project ( https://www.retemuseiuniversitari.unimore.it ) structured in order to contextualize, through both historical and territorial frameworks, significant collections and to strengthen the semantic value of the specimens identified and chosen by individual museums for their specific value within the four general themes and to create multiple contexts creating multiple contexts that explain the relationships between objects and the exhibits, not often easily understood upon their displaying.The Network has gradually become aware of the great potential to develop educational programs and the diffusion of scientific culture: in 2015 started a second project, approved and financed by the same Ministry, dedicated to orient the students to the scientific method and culture. The museums realized 56 experiential educational paths through the individuation and the sharing of operative methods, the adoption and the use of common languages and tools, with specific attention to the information technologies, dedicated to three principal themes, biodiversity, color and time, and to seven subthemes: all are published in the second section of the Network web portal.

ΓΑΒ LAB (the Knowledge and Uncertainty Research Laboratory at the University of Peloponnese) is designing and implementing Argolida’s Next Top Scientist (ANTS), a history of science program for minority students. ANTS draws on the biographies of celebrated scientists such as Albert Einstein and Marie Skłodowska Curie to empower students that are often found ostracized by both school and society. In a sense, the program uses the history of science as a tool to foster the future of science.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate parts of a 45 pages scientific investigation, delivering a significative sample of the results achieved according to the authentication methodology resulting from EU funded Research Project AUTHENTICO – CT-044480, coordinated by EJTN GEIE. Content has been abridged according to required number of pages. Advanced scientific instrumentation allows in-depth examination of the artefact while scientific and technical scholars, with established competences on movable Cultural Heritage, interpret results.