Presented in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, from the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon. Edmund Cirielli, the conclusion of the first phase of the Domus Project. Thanks to the expansion of the cultural offering, Ercolano confirms itself as a unique place where ancient history meets modern technologies. And it is Minister Giuli who is witnessing the new life of the Park: on March 19, the Minister was presented with an Ercolano in full ferment: in addition to the opening of the restored Domus, the new look of the Custodian's Room of the Sacello degli Augustali, the work in progress at the Suburban Baths and the extraordinary maintenance on an urban scale. And to get in tune with these extraordinary places, the Park is now making available a new mobile App for Android and iOS systems, an integral part of Ercolano Digitale, a real ecosystem of online resources accessible through the new institutional portal of the Park, full of multiple services and 3D content, the platform dedicated to cataloging the finds (already online through the dynamic connection with the National Catalogue of Cultural Heritage) and the Open Data portal, soon online for the entire scientific community of reference and beyond. The Herculaneum Digital App is available in nine languages and can be downloaded freely from the main stores; it uses the innovative WIFI and LiFi connection of the Park through which information arrives automatically on devices providing contextual content with respect to the position of the visitor thanks to a widespread network of Bluetooth beacons, unique in its kind in Italian archaeological sites. Visitors can choose between five itineraries based on thematic content, age and travel times for a visit tailored to everyone. The Archaeological Park of Ercolano continues to represent a virtuous example of how the conservation of cultural heritage can evolve over time, becoming increasingly accessible and usable thanks to the synergy between technology and research.
Digital tools to offer a different hope
The restored domus and digital tools add to the offer of visits already available to the public and make the experience of walking in a Roman city even more fascinating and rich in content, putting you in direct contact with the daily life of the Herculaneum residents of two thousand years ago: an experience that few archaeological sites in the world offer and which in Herculaneum is even more suggestive thanks to the exceptional state of conservation and the innovative restorations inaugurated by Amedeo Maiuri starting from the late 20s.
The interventions:
"A quarter of a century after their closure, the homes of the House of the Tuscan Colonnade and the House of the Wooden Sacello reopen their doors, restored with expert mastery, marking the completion of the first phase of the Domus Project. The more than twenty-year alliance with the Packard Humanities Institute confirms itself as fruitful and far-sighted. A partnership that will continue with an investment of approximately 45 million euros, allowing the resumption of archaeological excavations on the site, the study and application of new technologies to research and the enjoyment of the heritage, the construction of warehouses and laboratories“, thus the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli.
"The reopening of two domus and the creation of the Ercolano App, the result of more than twenty years of collaboration with the Packard Foundation – declares the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli - testifies to how the extraordinary cultural heritage of Campania can activate important channels of cultural diplomacy, capable of triggering the harmonious development of the territory, bringing growth, knowledge and quality employment. The valorization of Ercolano thus continues to open up important prospects in the transatlantic dialogue between Italy and the USA, while contributing to the protection of an archaeological site of great importance".
The words of the Director of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, Francis Sirano: "Our goal is to make the Ercolano Archaeological Park a place where history, culture, technology, but also familiarity with our origins that I would define as almost sentimental, intertwine to offer visitors an unprecedented experience. The main challenge that characterized the entire intervention on the domus concerned the need to reconcile technical and conservation needs (such as restoring structural stability) with a presentation to the public that exalted the characteristics that made them spaces of good living, of refined and industrious life of which they are testimony of great historical and monumental value. The expansion of the fruition area thanks to the opening of the domus in which we intervened is an integral part of a vision of the site aimed at the future that communicates universal values. To do this we used new technologies that contribute to making the historical richness of this heritage of humanity known to the world in an innovative and accessible way to all. With the new App, every visitor will not only be able to explore our sites, but also get in touch with our digital archive, a heritage that grows every day thanks to the conservation and research work that we carry out with passion. We are ready to project our extraordinary past into the future, and we are also ready to start new excavations in the eastern area of the ancient city: a historic resumption of research made possible, like many other important projects, by the excellent public-private partnership with the American philanthropic organization Packard Humanities Institute. The multidisciplinary approach and the adoption of a site management plan, starting in 2017, has led to the definition of maintenance programs on an urban scale that have defused emergencies, allowed the reduction of areas of degradation and guaranteed the protection of the UNESCO heritage.".
The arch. Jane Thompson, manager in charge of managing public-public partnerships on behalf of the Packard Foundations, states: “Today we celebrate the latest results of a long journey in Ercolano in the perspective and co-responsibility of the road to travel in the near, immediate future. With 24 years of joint actions, starting from 2001, for the conservation and enhancement of the ancient city together with projects aimed at rethinking its relationship with the modern city through the redevelopment of the neighboring neighborhood of Via Mare, today the public-private partnership is entering a new, even more important phase. The construction of a new complex of buildings, set back to the south with respect to the archaeological site, will allow the elimination of the existing modern infrastructures on the edge of the excavation and the retreat of the current excavation limits to the east and south. This “revolution” creates the conditions for two epochal turning points: the resumption of archaeological excavations to the east on a scale comparable only to that of the time of Amedeo Maiuri; the creation of a green landscape for those exploring the ancient city, a welcoming place for both the local community and visitors to the archaeological site. The combined action of these projects will make the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum and its territory, in the medium and long term, a very important international point of reference for humanistic studies.. "
