Il Progetto PRIN Smart Platform and Applications for Southern Cultural Heritage

The PRIN SPLASCH | Project Smart PLatform and Applications for Southern Cultural Heritage Riccardo Florio The S.PL.A.S.C.H. project, Smart Platform and Applications for Southern Cultural Heritage (CH), aims to develop a platform that promotes cultural heritage applied to Italian architectural and ar- chaeological sites, ancient villages and morphological-architectural structures in order to combine fragmented and incomplete data from various sources and foster accessibility and appreciation of cultural heritage, by increasing user engagement and active participation. The main objective of the project is to reconnect cultural heritage with the sites’ own physical and social geography by implementing an integrated tangible and virtual network of sites. This network will gradually increment the number of entities and relationships identified within the case studies, evolving into a widespread and inclusive mu- seum with a specific focus on Southern Italian heritage. The platform – based on 3D models – has been structured accord- ing to a sequence of interrelated operations involving the census, integrated survey, representation, digitisation, valorisation, and dis- semination of cultural heritage. The reference structure is designed to be highly open, allowing operators to proactively enhance the set of services granted by the project, including the development of integrated software applications (API – Application Program- ming Interface). Thus, the platform will be able to accommodate models and data from other existing CH platforms, different re- search centres, or diverse stakeholders, thereby ensuring its future sustainability and usability, as well as strengthening interactions between universities and research institutes. The project fosters participation in the Horizon Europe 2021-27 framework programme, capitalising on European standards con- cerning the use of digital technologies for cultural heritage, while also following the guidelines of the Three-Year Plan for Museum Digitalisation and Innovation. Drawing on the input of several professionals from diverse disciplinary fields, SPLASCH builds on previous experiences, outlined in three case studies, which con- stitute the basis for developing the network of sites within the digital platform, by focusing not only on its generation but also on its further implementation. Three specific case studies – each re- ferring to one of the three research units: University of Naples Federico II (UniNA), University of Calabria (UniCAL) and Inter- national Telematic University UNINETTUNO (UniNET) – estab- lish the prerequisites, listed as follows, to ensure the comprehensi- bility of architectural analyses (via accurate 3D models that can be quickly updated to match their counterparts physical changes) and test the feasibility of the proposal. (1) Vast archaeological areas; (2) Architectural complexes belonging to ancient villages; (3) Reli- gious sites, defensive architecture, and connecting infrastructure. The SPLASCH platform thus becomes a dissemination tool for both scientific users and non-expert users. Hence, the project proposes the development and implementation of a digital platform dedicated to the study and scientific dissemi- nation of Cultural Heritage to exploit the potential of 3D-based models of physical assets so as to make them accessible, queryable, interoperable, and dynamic. SPLASCH is intended as an intangible infrastructure for historical, architectural and archaeological heritage, aimed at improving the accessibility of culture and encouraging ‘root tourism’ by triggering regeneration processes in historical contexts and territorial areas, while also increasing the overall cultural and touristic appeal of the entire Country. Intending to integrate information and consolidated know-how on the territorial continuum with new knowledge layers, SPLASCH seeks to build and provide a new approach based on innovative methods and paradigms for representing and investi- gating the territory, namely for data collection, narration, valori- sation, and maintenance. The project research activities are directed and organised to achieve the following results: facilitating the interpretation of cultural and geographical relationships between sites of interest; arranging and rendering experiences transparent and traceable; identifying critical issues linked to the preservation and management of sites; and in- spiring the general public to a more efficient use of digital tools. Eventually, the underlying objective of the project is also the strate- gic unveiling of aspects that are not immediately understandable due to the complexity or jumble of physical and documentary evi- dence characterising the territory and its components. By imple- menting the potential of Information and Communication Tech- nologies (ICT) in case studies and integrating them into a unified framework, we aimed to define processes both for establishing learning-comparative methodologies and for ensuring support and sustainability over time based on the dynamic exchange of data and information between the virtual and physical dimensions.