Romina Nespeca

Museums are increasingly required to combine digital transformation with sustainability goals under conditions shaped by ecological pressures, resource constraints, and long-term heritage responsibilities. This paper examines museum digital transition as a problem of strategic governance rather than merely technological adoption. Drawing on an exploratory qualitative case study based on the Italian ECO ART programme, the research analyses participatory activities, best practices, and project materials related to green and digital transition in the cultural sector. The findings show that the main barriers concern governance, process design, skills continuity, and monitoring, rather than technology alone. In response, the paper proposes a strategic framework composed of a Sustainability Matrix and a Roadmap. The matrix connects technologies, processes, and people with the cultural, social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, while the Roadmap structures digital planning from diagnosis to monitoring. This work argues that digital transformation can support sustainable and resilience-oriented heritage management only when it is planned as a low-impact, inclusive, and long-term organizational process.

This study investigates the potential of UAV-based multispectral imagery to support vegetation management in archaeological contexts where structures are preserved underground and direct intervention is limited. The analysis focuses on the grassland covering the buried Roman theatre within the Archaeological Park of Castelleone di Suasa (Italy), exploring the relationship between vegetation spectral responses and the Deteriogenic Index (DI), an indicator that indirectly expresses vegetation-related pressure on buried remains. Vegetation indices derived from multispectral data acquired at two distinct moments within the same vegetative season were analysed in relation to plot-based DI values obtained from floristic surveys. Results show that vegetation dynamics, rather than single-date conditions, provide more consistent information, with inter-seasonal indices highlighting vegetation persistence associated with higher deteriogenic pressure. The calibrated relationship was used to derive a spatial proxy of DI, offering a synthetic and non-invasive tool to support spatially informed and adaptive vegetation management strategies in archaeological parks and contributing to the development of integrated information systems for the analysis and sharing of multidisciplinary environmental data.

This study presents a methodology integrating above-ground and underground 3D survey data within a Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) framework, further developed into an eXtended Reality (XR) environment. The historic centre of Cagli (Italy), with its stratified architectural and archaeological layers, served as a pilot case. Data acquisition included Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS), UAV photogrammetry, and 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), producing detailed georeferenced datasets of buildings and subsurface anomalies. These were modeled as parametric volumes in an HBIM environment and enriched with structured metadata, including geometry, historical sources, and risk information. The HBIM model was seamlessly integrated within an XR application built in Unity and connected with Google Cloud services, enabling real-time data exchange. Users can interact with the 3D model using a Mixed Reality (MR) headset, accessing metadata and uploading new information on-site. The system supports scenarios such as post-earthquake assessment by associating building records with standardized forms. Results demonstrate the potential of connecting HBIM with XR not only for enhanced visualization, but also for collaborative heritage management in situ. Integration allows for intuitive, data-driven exploration of complex heritage layers, facilitating decision-making processes and opening new perspectives for monitoring, documenting, and engaging with historic urban environments. The proposed workflow is replicable and adaptable to other historic villages, which, despite their unique identities, often pose similar conservation challenges due to their layered complexity and vulnerability.

This paper presents a case study from the Archaeological and Via Flaminia Museum in Cagli (Italy), developed within the ERASMUS+ Next-Museum project, which explores inclusive approaches through the digital transformation of small museums and their connection to the surrounding territory. A key goal was to “return” bronze statuettes to the museum, symbolically compensating the community for their absence. The initiative integrates accessibility and multisensory storytelling following “Design for All” principles. Three installations were implemented: tactile replicas of the statuettes produced through 3D printing, a sensorized table for interactive storytelling, and a story map displayed on a touchscreen for exploring local archaeological heritage. The design prioritized inclusivity, particularly for visitors with visual impairments, while addressing practical constraints such as the need for a mobile and flexible setup within a limited budget. Verification and validation tests were conducted with visually impaired participants during the pre-opening phase, and the installations were later evaluated using the User Experience Questionnaire, complemented by qualitative feedback. These evaluations highlight the potential of phygital experiences to foster engagement with cultural heritage while addressing technological and design challenges.

This study evaluates the performance of three image-based 3D reconstruction methods—Structure-from-Motion with Multi-View Stereo (SfM-MVS), Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF), and Gaussian Splatting (GS)—for documenting Architectural Heritage (AH). Data acquisition was conducted using low-cost sensors: a drone to capture the stone portal of the external façade and a 360° camera to document the interior spaces. NeRF and GS significantly outperformed SfM-MVS in processing time, with NeRF excelling in reconstruction completeness. However, GS faced challenges with point number control, and NeRF reconstructions exhibited artifacts and noise, particularly on flat surfaces. Accuracy assessments, using TLS point clouds as a benchmark, revealed that SfM-MVS provided the highest geometric precision for the external façade, despite minor gaps in reconstruction. In contrast, NeRF and GS fell short of the accuracy required for precise geometric documentation, with NeRF exhibiting prominent artifacts in flat or poorly detailed regions. Interior reconstructions were further limited by the higher Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) caused by the technical constraints of the 360° camera and the increased capture distance for elevated areas. In conclusion, we can affirm that while NeRF and GS demonstrate strong potential for visualization due to their rendering quality and efficiency, SfM-MVS remains the most reliable method for achieving accurate geometric documentation of AH.

Over the past decade, virtual museums have rapidly evolved due to technological advancements, and after the COVID-19 disruption grew in importance, this sustained the innovation of storytelling and the digital transformation of touristic practices. This paper presents the outcomes of a cooperation project: a virtual museum for eight ports in the Adriatic area, constituting notable examples of widespread heritage. The platform Adrijo is a multi-scalar, multilayer virtual museum that leverages the concept of geo-storytelling and e-tourism, also applying two augmented reality technologies for site-specific installations. In addition to the project results, an assessment of the different levels and experiences is provided, based on qualitative and qualitative analysis. As a re-usable resource, the technical tender specification from the methodological work package is presented, encompassing details of the technology, structure, functionalities, costs, timing for realization, and accessibility for disabled people. This paper proposes, through the critical analysis of the VM, a methodology that can be reused in other contexts, also providing toolkits for both its implementation and user satisfaction surveys, as well as for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of some specific examples. The goal of the present research is thus to establish a consolidated methodological framework for designing, developing, implementing, and assessing a virtual museum, fully featured with 3D models and augmented reality technologies.

This paper discusses the use of point cloud segmentation, both automatic and semi-automatic, in heritage conservation processes, with the aim of consciously integrating traditional and innovative methods. Thus, the research explores the potential of open-source software tools for semi-automatic point-cloud segmentation in enriching heritage knowledge and contributing to the inspection of its state of conservation. This ensures a 3D geometric view of reality and enables the identification of criticalities that may not be visible to the naked eye through colorimetric attributes. The study was conducted on Villa Leonardi, a historical house located in the city of Treia in the Marche Region (Italy) as a pilot test. The investigation focused on the east and south elevations of the building, which were suitable for two distinct trials: a semi-automatic procedure for analyzing the quality of mortar joints in an exposed masonry, and a semi-automatic procedure for mapping alterations and decay in a plastered masonry. To validate the results, manual and semi-automatic maps were compared using both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Qualitative assessment involved overlay and visual analysis, while quantitative assessment involved transforming the segmented point cloud into a mesh and calculating the resulting surface area. The critical interpretation of the two trials revealed both advantages and disadvantages; overall, experimentation highlighted the added value that advanced digital process can bring to the issue of heritage preservation.

Small and medium-sized museums have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they often have limited resources and staff to manage the challenges posed by the pandemic. In order for them to survive during the pandemic but also embracing the extensive use of technology in our everyday lives, museums have to adapt to this new reality. The aim of the Museum-Next project is to provide small and medium-sized museums with a new generation of specialised EU professionals working in the Cultural Heritage sector, equipped with a recognised, cross-cutting and high-level digital skillset: the Digital Curators. In the digital age, museum digital curators play a critical role in preserving, organising, and presenting museum collections online. As part of the project, our research performed a desk analysis on the state of the art on museum digital transition strategies and museum digital curator training programs already implemented at EU scale in order to map good practices and tools already existing so as to highlight the current situation and the gaps that may appear in the topic.

3D digitisation is essential to enhance knowledge and conservation processes for Cultural Heritage (CH). However, movable heritage collected in museums, e.g., archeological finds, statues, coins, and musical instruments, often consists of highly reflective surfaces and/or featureless textures. The aim of this work is to stress the Structure from Motion Dense MultiView Reconstruction (SfM-DMVR) of objects, whose optical properties are challenging to this image-based technique. To improve the results obtained by SfM-DMVR standard acquisition workflow, this study exploited the potential of combining Noise Function Pattern (NFP) projection and light Cross Polarization (CP). Moreover, High Dynamic Range (HDR) image reconstruction was tested on images acquired according to different CP angles. The SfM-DMVR of a texture-less shiny ceramic object was then compared to the one obtained by a structured light triangulation scanner, the most reliable tool for such surfaces, but unfortunately quite expensive. The advantages and limitations of the presented method are discussed.

Digit(al)isation of Cultural Heritage is a multidimensional process that helps in the rescue of European Cultural Identity, and the paradigm of Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH) is a valid instrument for social and cognitive inclusion of museum visitors. In light of disseminating and validating new paradigms for the enjoyment and exploitation of Cultural Heritage (CH) artifacts, this chapter shows main first results from CIVITAS (ChaIn for excellence of reflectiVe societies to exploit dIgital culTural heritAge and museumS). The project develops virtual/augmented environments, through the multisensorial interaction with virtual artworks, to satisfy needs and overcome limitations in a larger CH scenario, applying a bottom-up approach. The research presented show a robust and interdisciplinary approach applied to Ducal Pace at Urbino: key activities and faced challenges demonstrated to test cross-fertilization strategies, involving multilayered issues.