Augmenting Italian Cultural Heritage with Virtual and Digital Technologies: the final outcomes of Project CHANGES' Spoke 4

2026-09-30

AI Summary

This study addresses the disconnect between technological selection and organizational strategies, along with sustainability deficiencies, in the digitalization of Italian cultural heritage. By integrating virtual reality, digital technologies, and meta-analysis, the research employs experimental case designs to demonstrate how museum typologies decisively shape both technological and organizational strategies while identifying cross-contextual common gaps. Consequently, this work constructs a reusable and adaptable best-practice framework that effectively validates the feasibility of strategies concerning stakeholder engagement, resource utilization, and outcome dissemination. Ultimately, the proposed framework offers a systematic solution for the digital transformation of cultural heritage, delivering both theoretical innovation and practical guidance.

Abstract

CHANGES (Cultural Heritage Innovation for Next-Gen Sustainable Society) was a project coordinated by the CHANGES Foundation, bringing together complementary disciplines and expertise across the entire cultural heritage lifecycle. This article focuses on the project's research area dedicated to applying virtual technologies to museums and art collections. This research enabled us to experiment with different types of museums and art collections across Italy, designing case studies and best practices that institutions and similar contexts can adapt and reuse. The meta-analysis of the case studies showed that museum types play a decisive role in shaping not only technological choices but also organisational strategies, training models, and pathways to sustainability. This work also allowed us to identify technological and organisational gaps that go beyond single cases and reflect shared challenges across museum contexts. Finally, we documented the success of the engagement, exploitation, and dissemination strategy proposed in the project.

Problem

• Cultural Heritage
• Virtual Technologies
• Museums
• Digital Augmentation
• Sustainability

Innovation

• Virtual Technologies
• Cultural Heritage
• Museums
• Meta-analysis
• Digital Transformation