Lucus Feroniae and Tiber Valley Virtual Musem: from digital documentation and 3D reconstruction, up to virtual reality application, combining immersive visualization, cinematographic rules and natural interaction

The aim of the Virtual Museum of the Tiber Valley project is the creation of an integrated digital platform for the knowledge, valorisation and communication of the cultural landscape, the archaeological and naturalistic sites along the Tiber Valley, in the Sabina area, North of Rome. Virtual reality applications, multimedia contents, together with a web site, are under construction and they will be accessed inside the museums of the territory and in a central museum in Rome within 2014. The different stages of work cover the reconstruction of the ancient potential landscape and the creation of virtual models of some of the main archaeological sites. From the same dataset many elaborations and specific communicative formats accessible from multiple platforms will be realized. Among all, a spectacular installation of virtual reality located in the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, in Rome, based on the use of gesture based interaction interfaces. Here the user can explore four different virtual scenarios where the landscape is represented in its interpretative and emotional dimensions. This paper will focus on the famous ancient Italic sanctuary of Lucus Feroniae that in Roman time has lost its greatness and is turning into a simple farming roman town. The site has been documented and represented in 3D through different technologies (topographical survey, UAV, photogrammetry and dense stereo marching techniques), and a 3D reconstruction in Tiberian and Trajan period has been realized starting form archaeological evidences and comparisons with similar contexts. After the survey, the 3D modelling process began. To achieve a reliable reconstruction of the whole archaeological site and its buildings several types of archeological and architectural data have been investigated and interpreted. Then, the hypothetical reconstruction was drawn up comparing historical and archeological survey, data coming from image-based modeling, comparative data, formal rules, construction techniques and roman modules. The VR installation introduces a novel approach in combining different media and languages: real time exploration, cinematographic paradigms, virtual set practices. The reconstructed site is a stage for storytelling, where ancient characters are the leading actors, dialoguing and interacting among them and occasionally with the user. In this project the efforts have been oriented towards the creation of an emotional, multi-sensorial scenario, inside which visitors can feel immersed and involved and acquire cultural contents in a pleasant and not frustrating way. Many factors contribute to create such a condition: narrative plots and non–linear interactive storytelling, interaction design, interface design, immersivity level, soundscapes. ln this perspective we tried to combine science, art and technology, to meet both mu - seums and research needs. The paper presents the methodological approach and technical solutions that have been adopted to achieve the desired results.