The scarce knowledge and documentation of Underground Built Heritage (UBH) assets frequently limit their full exploitation and valorization. The aim of this work is to reflect on the techniques, functions, and technical features of a specific case study in a very broad context that can, however, be a building block for the understanding, preservation, and reuse of architectural and engineering values that represent a fundamental trace of the history of a society. Therefore, to fill these knowledge gaps, it was constructed a 3D GIS model, multi-scale, and interoperable database, capable of management, promotion, and valorization of UBH. The case study focuses on the old water supply system of the city of Lisbon, as UBH site, with galleries and cisterns that are points of connection with the urban environment above. For the creation of 3D models of the structure under investigation, it was decided to carry out a survey with Mobile Mapping System as a first step, which allowed the construction of a dense point cloud useful to build 3D models of individual objects. Finally, the 3D models were imported into the 3D GIS environment and multi-information could be linked for each previously identified element for greater knowledge sharing. This research has demonstrated how geomatic techniques can be effectively used in conjunction with the information management systems of GIS to explore this “hidden” heritage and has highlighted the limitations and problems of 3D digitization of the UBH. The results obtained offer the possibility of extending and adapting the methodology to different application contexts and the possibility of customizing the data representation.

Purpose: This article discusses the role of the digital curator in cultural heritage, highlighting trends in training programs and best practices of museums in the digital age. It emphasizes the potential of geolocation in a Web Geographic Information System (Web-GIS) environment to enhance the accessibility and preservation of digitized museums. The analysis, conducted as part of the “DCbox – Digital Curator Mapping and Design” project, emphasizes the need for professionals specializing in digital cultural heritage and redefines the digital curator as a mediator between culture, technology and global audiences. Design/methodology/approach: The study explores the evolution of the curator’s role since 2000, examining opportunities and challenges of digital humanities and analyzing EU-funded projects and emerging trends. It focuses on the incorporation of digital technologies by museums through geolocated analysis, proposing a customized educational program for training professional digital curators. The conclusions and recommendations of the report are based on a thorough analysis of national situations and case studies from neighboring countries. Findings: The analysis of training programs and museum best practices led to the proposal of a customized educational program aimed at training professional digital curators. This program considers various multidisciplinary areas, blending specific topics and subjects to achieve a unique set of functional skills, encompassing both theoretical and practical aspects. Originality/value: The innovative aspect of this paper is the approach to geolocating digitized museums through a Web-based GIS, providing detailed informational profiles of various offerings, including augmented, virtual, mixed reality and virtual tours.

Heritage 3D Reconstruction is a digital bridge to the past, providing a vivid window into history by meticulously preserving the intricate details of cultural artifacts and sites and bringing them to life for future generations to explore and appreciate. In recent years, novel Neural Rendering methods, such as Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) and 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS), have shown promising results for 3D reconstruction. Despite their rapid development, a systematic comparison of these approaches in the context of $$360^{\circ }$$ imagery, particularly within Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH), remains largely unexplored. In this work, we present a novel comparative framework specifically designed to address this gap, performing a comprehensive assessment of traditional $$360^{\circ }$$ photogrammetry against emerging Neural Rendering approaches. To validate its effectiveness, we conducted a comparative analysis on two different Cultural Heritage scenarios: a large-scale outdoor environment and an object-centered setting. These case studies, which present a variety of challenges in the DCH domain, were selected to evaluate the ability of photogrammetry, NeRF, and 3DGS-based methods to reconstruct and render complex scenes in terms of both geometric accuracy and visual quality. The results highlight the differences between Neural Rendering approaches and conventional methods, particularly in handling spherical geometry, adaptability to varying lighting conditions and efficiency in data acquisition and processing. These findings confirm the continued robustness of spherical photogrammetry for metric reconstruction, while also underscoring the potential of Neural Rendering-based scene representation methods as promising tools for DCH preservation.