Virtual Canova: a Digital Exhibition Across MANN and Hermitage Museums

The paper presents the results of a scientific collaboration between the Interdepartmental Research Center Urban/Eco of the University of Naples Federico II and the MANN (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, National Archaeological Museum of Naples). The research activity was aimed to the digitisation, design, and development of an AR/VR-powered narrative experience regarding Antonio Canova’s statuary that is currently exhibited at the MANN, loaned by the Hermitage in St. Petersburg: Cupid, Hebe, Dancer, Cupid and Psyche, the Genius of Death and The Three Graces. The project is motivated by the will to realize an active example of a digital museum, where cultural and formative experiences related to the fruition of architectural and artistic artifacts can be relived over time, even when manufacts are not physically and/or temporally located in the space where the experience takes place.