Search Results (33)

Rural landscapes play a key role in preserving ecological processes, cultural identity, and socio-economic well-being, yet these areas often face challenges such as land degradation, water scarcity, and an inadequate road network. A sustainable approach to rural landscape and tourism planning is essential for enhancing both environmental resilience and socio-economic vitality in areas facing degradation and global change. This study aims to develop and validate an integrated methodological workflow that combines Landscape Character Assessment (LCA), ECOVAST guidelines, SWOT analysis, and open-source GIS techniques, complemented by a bottom-up approach of spontaneous fruition mapped through Wikiloc heatmaps. The framework was applied to a case study in Paternò, Eastern Sicily, Italy—a territory distinguished by its key local values such as Calanchi formations, proximity to Mount Etna, and cultural heritage. Through this application, eight distinct Landscape Units (LUs) were delineated, and key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for sustainable development were identified. Using open-access data and a survey-free protocol, this approach facilitates detailed landscape assessment without extensive fieldwork. The methodology is readily transferable to other rural Italian and Mediterranean contexts, providing practical guidance for researchers, planners, and stakeholders engaged in sustainable tourism development and landscape management. Full article

Cultural tourism can act as a driver for inner area development, bringing about a range of socio-economic benefits through economic stimulation, quality of life improvement, and cultural heritage preservation. Inner territories, set apart by geographic marginality and low population density, hold a rich cultural and environmental heritage that, however, remains off the radar and left behind. Guided by the principles of endogenous local development, this article seeks to contribute to the existing body of research by proposing potential strategies for local growth rooted in cultural tourism. From this perspective, we identified the Basilicata region (Southern Italy) as a proper test area. The region is rich in archaeological, monumental and museum evidence, but is characterized, except in a few areas, by a low rate of tourist turnout. Through a replicable, comprehensive, and flexible methodology—drawing on bibliographic research, analysis of archaeological, archival, erudite and antiquarian sources, and carrying out field surveys—the different points of interest in the region have been brought together under specific cultural themes. Results include the design of three detailed routes (Via Herculia, Frederick II’s, and St Michael’s cultural routes) useful for three different types of tourism (sustainable, emotional, and accessible). Possible scenarios for valorization and fruition are also proposed, paying particular attention to digital technologies. Thus, this research aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8 and 11 promoting cultural heritage valorization and preservation, shoring up economic revitalization, stepping up community engagement, and pushing forward environmentally friendly tourism practices. Research findings can attract the interest of a wide range of stakeholders such as tourism professionals, local authorities, cultural and creative industries, local communities and entrepreneurs, as well as academics and researchers. The methodological approach can be considered for the valorization and tourist enjoyment of inner areas in other countries, with particular focus on those falling within the Mediterranean region which is rich in cultural heritage, environmental value, and socio-economic potential. Full article

Digitized heritage is regarded as an emerging field, with existing studies primarily focusing on one case study, technological aspect, or a methodological approach. Thus, there remains a notable gap in the literature regarding the understanding of how these technologies and methodologies can be utilized in smart heritage fruition. Approaches that harness technological advancements to enhance the decision-making process regarding the use of appropriate methodology at various heritage sites remain insufficiently explored. To address this gap, this study conducted a cross-case analysis to survey the use of heritage technologies across selected cases to find underlying trends and correlations related to the scale and methodology used. The findings of this study provide insights into the nexus of technology integration into heritage fruition, highlighting the role of tangible heritage documentation technologies. The present study concludes that smart fruition framework necessitates an ongoing process involving the integration of cultural heritage data, digital documentation, management, enhancement methodologies, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT facilitates the connectivity of physical items to the internet thereby supporting the understanding of heritage knowledge. Such framework operates through a collaboration platform that engages experts, local communities, and tourists to ensure a meaningful and interactive interconnection. Full article

The spread of new survey strategies for the documentation and 3D reconstruction of complex cultural heritage sites enables the implementation of virtual web navigation systems that are useful for their virtual fruition. In particular, remote indoor/outdoor exploration enhances our knowledge of cultural heritage sites, even in inaccessible or difficult-to-visit states. However, the 3D data acquisition of complex sites for documentation remains a challenge, and the 3D virtual exploration of these datasets is often limited to property software implementations. This work describes the 3D documentation and construction of an indoor/outdoor web visualization system based on the WebGL open-source technology of a complex cultural heritage site. The case study regards the complex of “Santa Maria della Grotta” in Marsala (Italy), which is composed of a church that is located mostly underground and is connected to a human-dug hypogea on the site of a Punic necropolis. The aim of the work was to obtain detailed 3D documentation of the indoor and outdoor spaces through the integration of mobile laser scanning and aerial photogrammetry survey, and to develop a virtual web navigation system for the remote exploration of the site. The indoor/outdoor web navigation system provides users with a simple, web-browser-based 3D visualization, enabling the dissemination of the monuments’ knowledge on the web through an economically sustainable solution based on open-source technologies. Full article

Thanks to the recent development of innovative instruments and software with high accuracy and resolution, 3D modelling provides useful insights in several sectors (from industrial metrology to cultural heritage). Moreover, the 3D reconstruction of objects of artistic interest is becoming mandatory, not only because of the risks to which works of art are increasingly exposed (e.g., wars and climatic disasters) but also because of the leading role that the virtual fruition of art is taking. In this work, we compared the performance of four 3D instruments based on different working principles and techniques (laser micro-profilometry, structured-light topography and the phase-shifting method) by measuring four samples of different sizes, dimensions and surface characteristics. We aimed to assess the capabilities and limitations of these instruments to verify their accuracy and the technical specifications given in the suppliers’ data sheets. To this end, we calculated the point densities and extracted several profiles from the models to evaluate both their lateral (XY) and axial (Z) resolution. A comparison between the nominal resolution values and those calculated on samples representative of cultural artefacts was used to predict the performance of the instruments in real case studies. Overall, the purpose of this comparison is to provide a quantitative assessment of the performance of the instruments that allows for their correct application to works of art according to their specific characteristics. Full article

The metaverse, powered by XR technologies, enables human augmentation by enhancing physical, cognitive, and sensory capabilities. Cultural heritage sees the metaverse as a vehicle for expression and exploration, providing new methods for heritage fruition and preservation. This article proposes a metaverse application, inspired by the events of the Italian Resistance, promoting interactions between multiple users in an immersive VR experience while safeguarding intangible cultural assets according to an edutainment approach. The virtual environment, based on Ivrea’s town hall square, provides in-depth information about the partisan’s life and the historical value of its actions for the city. Furthermore, the application allows users to meet in the same virtual place and engage with one another in real time through the Spatial SDK. Before the public presentation, a heterogeneous group of thirty users underwent usability and engagement tests to assess the experience on both VR headsets and smartphones. Tests revealed statistically significant evidence that there is a genuine difference in users’ perceptions of usability and engagement with different devices and types of interaction. This study highlights the effectiveness of adopting XR as a supporting technology to complement the real experience of cultural heritage valorization. Full article

Al Ain, near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is characterized by hot desert climate with high temperatures, aridity, and almost no rain. Several truncated earthen walls were discovered at the historic house of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa, a component of the World Heritage Cultural Sites. These remains are preserved in situ, outdoors, protected in glass showcases for public display. As this situation is not documented in the literature, the local Authority has requested to study the showcase environment to optimize conservation. The solar radiation and the projected shades have been modeled over one year; the temperature and humidity inside and outside the showcases, as well as the moisture content, have been measured to assess the potential preservation risks. The paper presents the results, i.e., the direct solar radiation generates extreme conditions of greenhouse effect with extremely high temperatures and forces evaporation from the remains. During the night, the excess moisture condenses on the inner surface of the glass panes, forming large drops that affect viewing and are dangerous for conservation. The repetition of evaporation–condensation cycles accumulates soluble salts on the remains. The paper discusses mitigation strategies (e.g., shading, ventilation, and cooling, to reduce the greenhouse effect) to improve conservation and fruition. Full article

Digital technologies are becoming increasingly relevant in the processes of documenting, surveying, enhancing, and preserving cultural heritage, including through applications that are becoming more and more optimized and oriented toward new data management and accessibility processes. This great potential can find significant levels of application in the tourism sector, seeking new strategies to access, discover, and understand cultural assets. In this direction, many digital applications have already found interesting outcomes in the tourism sector, but there is large room for improvement in the applications for “minor”, small, or neglected cultural sites, not included in conventional tourism routes, which play a key role in social inclusion and territorial cohesion, as well as for the development of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The paper presents a conceptual framework or possible outline to foster the use of digital technologies through a set of integrated bottom-up and top-down actions, to facilitate connections of minor sites into larger networks, contributing to the search for new forms of sustainable and active fruition and social participation. Full article

Poetry elicits emotions, and emotion is a fundamental component of human ontogeny. Although neuroaesthetics is a rapidly developing field of research, few studies focus on poetry, and none address its different modalities of fruition (MOF) of universal cultural heritage works, such as the Divina Commedia (DC) poem. Moreover, alexithymia (AX) resulted in being a psychological risk factor during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to investigate the emotional response to poetry excerpts from different cantica (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) of DC with the dual objective of assessing the impact of both the structure of the poem and MOF and that of the characteristics of the acting voice in experts and non-experts, also considering AX. Online emotion facial coding biosignal (BS) techniques, self-reported and psychometric measures were applied to 131 literary (LS) and scientific (SS) university students. BS results show that LS globally manifest more JOY than SS in both reading and listening MOF and more FEAR towards Inferno. Furthermore, LS and SS present different results regarding NEUTRAL emotion about acting voice. AX influences listening in NEUTRAL and SURPRISE expressions. DC’s structure affects DISGUST and SADNESS during listening, regardless of participant characteristics. PLEASANTNESS varies according to DC’s structure and the acting voice, as well as AROUSAL, which is also correlated with AX. Results are discussed in light of recent findings in affective neuroscience and neuroaesthetics, suggesting the critical role of poetry and listening in supporting human emotional processing. Full article

The proposed work deals with the generative process of high-resolution 360° spherical photographs for the creation of an information container in the form of a virtual tour for the immersive fruition of the archaeological area of Abellinum. The development of the tool aims at the promotion and dissemination of the research results obtained so far within the project “Abellinum. Piano per la conoscenza, la tutela e la valorizzazione dell’antico centro irpino”, as well as a first expeditious approach for the digitisation of an area that is still difficult to access. This procedure, born out of a health emergency but also an economic-social one, acts as a suitable and valid alternative to more time-consuming methodologies, imposing a reflection on the resources to be deployed in relation to the purposes of the cultural offer. After describing the technical approach enacted, the study of the virtual tour interface design and the basic functions adopted in this first phase are investigated, hinting at possible implementations. What emerges is a progressive transdisciplinary enhancement between academic and professional skills for the promotion and preservation of cultural heritage, with the development of new tools and the transformation of existing ones on the basis of a technological process that is in its full rise. Full article

The Natura 2000 network is an ecological network covering the whole territory of the European Union to ensure the long-term maintenance of threatened or rare natural habitats and species of flora and fauna, including in metropolitan and rural areas. Some of the Natura 2000 sites have been subject to changes in ownership that have led to a fragmentation of the territory. Private entities may own areas within a Natura 2000 site and must ensure sustainable management of their property, especially from an ecological point of view. The case study is the Stellantis–La Mandria site, a private area owned by Stellantis, within the Natura 2000 site “ZSC IT1110079 La Mandria”, near Turin. The research proposes a participatory methodology, mainly addressed in this first phase to experts and professionals and aimed at the valorisation and management of private Natura 2000 sites previously considered as industrial sites, to allow a careful fruition and safeguarding of the natural heritage. The aim of the research is to provide a methodological approach and the first qualitative results useful to providing the owners with an indication for a more targeted management of the site; mapping the areas that provide ecosystem services (ES, especially cultural ones); mapping the areas that could be subject to future fruition; collaborating with the managing body to collect useful data for the future drafting of a new area plan. Two main research activities were carried out, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis concerning the management and possible future fruition of the site and a participatory mapping of ES. It should be emphasised that the research allowed the first results to be obtained, which, on the one hand, make it possible to validate the methodology used to achieve the objectives and, on the other hand, the results will have to be implemented over time by involving numerous stakeholders among those who can access the private area. The results of the research highlight opportunities and threats with regard to the conservation of ecological–environmental characteristics and future fruition of the site. The participatory mapping identifies areas with different ecological value and, therefore, different management needs and identifies areas that could be used differently for future fruition. Overall, the results aim to meet some of the European Commission’s wishes regarding Natura 2000 sites, with particular reference to the involvement of different stakeholders and experts for the conservation of biodiversity and the integration of ecological and social aspects into the management and fruition plans. Full article

Nowadays, technology makes it possible to admire objects and artworks exhibited all over the world remotely. We have been able to appreciate this convenience even more in the last period, in which the pandemic has forced us into our homes for a long time. However, visiting art sites in person remains a truly unique experience. Even during on-site visits, technology can help make them much more satisfactory, by assisting visitors during the fruition of cultural and artistic resources. To this aim, it is necessary to monitor the active user for acquiring information about their behavior. We, therefore, need systems able to monitor and analyze visitor behavior. The literature proposes several techniques for the timing and tracking of museum visitors. In this article, we propose a novel approach to indoor tracking that can represent a promising and non-expensive solution for some of the critical issues that remain. In particular, the system we propose relies on low-cost equipment (i.e., simple badges and off-the-shelf RGB cameras) and harnesses one of the most recent deep neural networks (i.e., Faster R-CNN) for detecting specific objects in an image or a video sequence with high accuracy. An experimental evaluation performed in a real scenario, namely, the “Exhibition of Fake Art” at Roma Tre University, allowed us to test our system on site. The collected data has proven to be accurate and helpful for gathering insightful information on visitor behavior. Full article