Vani Virtual eXperience

Technology-enhanced strategies for Heritage valorization in Georgia

The Italian Institute of Heritage Science of the CNR, and the Georgian National Museum present the Vani Virtual eXperience project.

Thanks to the Bilateral Project 2021-2022, funded by Italian National Research Council and Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, Cultural Heritage and digital technologies are not more separated domains, but one depending on the other; both of them concur to the establishment of a new cross-disciplinary field of experimentation, requiring knowledge of Science and Engineering, as well as Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences.

Italy and Georgia: 4.000 kilometers of collaboration between the Institute of Heritage Science of CNR and the Georgian National Museum.

The project: a bilateral collaboration

The Bilateral Project 2021-2022 between CNR ISPC and the GNM supports research on heritage interpretation, preservation, documentation and management, while granting access to data and technologies through a standardized approach within the global heritage science community.

The interdisciplinarity of Heritage Science - on which we both have a shared approach - reflects indeed the diversity of Heritage itself, and especially for future Italian-Georgian projects, knowledge and skills are necessary from many different fields of expertise; it is only through such collaboration that a broader societal impact can be ensured.

The Bilateral Project cover fields of mutual interest between CNR ISPC and the GNM, and in particular the areas where strong synergies exist, which are:

Human Sciences, Cultural Heritage & Archaeology
Diagnostics, Geophysics and landscape surveys
Computational sciences and scientific simulation

CNR ISPC and GNM teams debating on archaeological issues in Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi.

CNR ISPC and GNM Teams visiting the Archaeological Museum of Vani. Detailed view of the site's map with indication of excavations.

CNR ISPC and GNM Teams at the Archaeological Museum of Vani, discussing about objects.

CNR ISPC and GNM Teams with local collaborators and friends outside of the Archaeological Museum of Vani.

Output of the Bilateral project is the Vani Virtual eXperience, a digital exploration in the historic city of Vani, Imereti region, western Georgia, to admire the wonders of the Past, especially referring to the archaeological area of the so-called mosaic floor temple and its findings - our main case study.

Located about 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi, Vani is an area with continuity of life. The richness of the documentary framework and the variety of the historical and archaeological problems offered today by the ancient city reveal an incredible potential that constitutes a truly significant heritage and a first-level attractive element by making use of new technologies applied to Cultural Heritage.

In this light, we had the idea of providing citizens and tourists with a digital interactive tool capable of enhancing and promoting knowledge of the territory, its history and evolution over time. Such a tool has multiple purposes: it can be used as a website, a webapp application, a kiosk desk in the Vani Archaeological Museum and as QRcode panels along the archeological site.

D. Ferdani | G. Partskaladze

Scientific collaboration for Cultural Heritage study and interpretation

CNR ISPC and GNM Responsibles of the Bilateral project

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