ArcheoVerso is born, the project that will bring the metaverse into cultural places

Kicking off is the innovative ArcheoVerso project, the project aimed at enhancing the metaverse in the cultural world. The project is made possible thanks to the collaboration between the DigiLab Research Center of Sapienza University of Rome and CoopCulture, and is part of a path already underway that sees Sapienza University of Rome and CoopCulture partners in the Center of Excellence of the Lazio Region’s Technological District of Culture (DTC) and united by an extended partnership within the PNRR’s Mission 4 “Education and Research.” It is in this context that ArcheoVerso fits, seeing Coopculture and Digilab engaged in different phases of work over the next two years.

Several research groups at the international level have probed the possibilities of digital in the cultural field, but the possible positive impact of the metaverse on the cultural world for the implementation of innovative projects remains to be discovered. ArcheoVerso therefore aims to explore the potential of digital universes for the enhancement of cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, by developing a methodological and technological ecosystem for the creation, fruition, interaction in immersive and augmented reality, as well as for the formulation of economic sustainability solutions for metaverse-centered projects.

The project involves the definition of the most suitable technologies to make the user experience in the digital metaverse varied, including the creation of a scalable platform aimed at the creation and articulation of virtual environments; the development of service packages for the enhancement of the identified place of culture; the construction of the activity within the virtual environment for the involvement and management of the public with a community-centered approach; the development of educational services on issues related to technology, cultural heritage, and social innovation (services provided freemium, i.e., partly free partly paid).

For the first design phase and development of the prototype, the Roman Houses of the Caelian, an ancient Roman residential complex that is still little known, was chosen as the cultural site. This will make it possible to monitor results one year after its implementation and then be replicated nationwide. A choice dictated by the desire to study a more widespread enjoyment of the city’s cultural heritage and thus encourage the decongestion of the area around Italy’s most visited monument, the Colosseum. A site therefore capable of fitting into several elements of strategic development: smart mobility, enhancement of secondary routes, and creation of supportive communities and development.

“The agreement signed with CoopCulture for the development of the ArcheoVerso project represents a happy novelty in the relationship between Research Centers and businesses. DigiLab is delighted to promote a model that will hopefully find application in other research realities as well, and sincerely thanks CoopCulture for the trust placed in it, which makes it possible to launch a pioneering experience,” said Paola Buzi, Director at DigiLab. “Concretely, virtual and real experiences applied to a selected number of cultural sites will be integrated in ArcheoVerso. For each site or museum identified, a virtual environment will be created that can be used both remotely and in presence, supporting and not replacing the normal visiting process, integrating a series of services, through digital, that would not otherwise be usable normally. A true archaeological metaverse.”

“The goal shared with DigiLab is an analysis and enhancement of the quality of enjoyment of interactions within metaverse spaces. We want to make accessible the benefits of the presence of cultural entities in the metaverse, enhancing the relational aspects and possible economic impact,” said Giovanna Barni, Managing Director of Innovation and Development at CoopCulture. “”i This is a market that will reach, according to today’s estimates, more than $750 billion in 2026, between technological implementations and induced income from virtual activities, where the cultural element is not represented to date. Thanks to our work, it will be possible to implement scalable models on a national scale."

ArcheoVerso is born, the project that will bring the metaverse into cultural places

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