Designing Interactions. On the Use of Digital Technologies in the Musealisation of Difficult Built Heritage

The paper aims at reflecting on the curatorial strategies and design solutions that are being applied in the musealisation projects of difficult heritage sites, with a particular focus on the actual and potential contribution that digital technologies could bring in this complex field. To critically evaluate and assess the opportunities and criticalities implied, the text draws on the comparison between two emblematic examples that sit at opposite extremes in the use of digital technologies in their museum and exhibition design: the former Horsens State Penitentiary (Denmark), today hosting the Fængselsmuseet, and the Museo di Storia della Psichiatria in Italy, at the former San Lazzaro Psychiatric Hospital in Reggio Emilia (Italy).