Over the last years, the exponential progress of technology introduced a broader population of researchers and developers to the use of Virtual Reality (VR) devices in numerous contexts, e.g., gaming, simulations, and culture dissemination. Recently, cultural heritage has also been supported by motivational experiences and other improvements designed explicitly for specific users (visitors, researchers, and domain experts). In this context, we propose a protocol within a digital environment, using innovative, non-invasive, and non-destructive methods for the technological enhancement, education, and dissemination of ancient human remains. The presented case study is focused on sexual dimorphism in the human skull; several 3D models are digitally generated from female and male skull references exploiting an algorithmic approach with statistical analysis, e.g., Principal Component Analysis (PCA); then, the models are made available in a virtual environment with a Head Mounted Display (HMD) and can also be interacted with via a touchless approach (hands-free). Tests conducted with segmented populations provided promising results.

The term bioarchaeology refers to the study of archaeological remains of organic origin, including human and botanical remains, which are highly informative for reconstructing past human–environment relationships. However, they are not very tangible, either because of ethical issues or their reduced size. Using novel technologies, such as modeling, 3D printing, and virtual reality, these remains have been made accessible, manipulable, and inclusive. The objective of this work is the technological enhancement of bioarchaeological remains through the development of an innovative, non-destructive, non-invasive, and reproducible protocol. In this way, more effective dissemination of the information obtained from studying these materials is possible, making them more accessible to different audiences.

This study aims to provide a contribution to advance knowledge on the evaluation of visitors’ behavior in a museum context based on the approach developed within the ARTEMISIA project, which has been carried out at the Museum of Rome in Palazzo Braschi (Rome, Italy). The approach involved the study of visitors’ trajectories through sensors, equipped with artificial intelligence internal functions, for checking visitors’ position and sight orientation in combination with user experience analysis and assessment of visit impact on emotional wellbeing and sense of connection with art. This approach allowed to identify different visitors’ experiential profiles and provided evidence of a positive association between improvement in their emotional wellbeing and visit time length. Overall, the findings lead to the definition of different approaches to museum fruition, with possible relevant implications in terms of the conception of museum exhibition and cultural marketing. Questo studio fornisce un contributo alla valutazione del comportamento dei visitatori in un contesto museale, basato sull’approccio sviluppato dal progetto ARTEMISIA, svolto presso il Museo di Roma a Palazzo Braschi (Roma, Italia). L’approccio ha comportato lo studio delle traiettorie dei visitatori attraverso sensori, dotati di funzioni interne di Intelligenza Artificiale, per il controllo della posizione dei visitatori e dell’orientamento visivo in combinazione con l’analisi dell'esperienza dell'utente e la valutazione dell’impatto della visita sul benessere emotivo e sul senso di connessione con l’arte. Questo approccio ha permesso di identificare diversi profili esperienziali dei visitatori e ha fornito prove di un’associazione positiva tra miglioramento del loro benessere emotivo e durata della visita. Nel complesso, i risultati portano alla definizione di diversi approcci alla fruizione museale, con possibili implicazioni rilevanti in termini di concezione dell'esposizione museale e di marketing culturale.

In this paper, we present the application of established methodologies to innovatively investigate a soil block containing a human skeleton and metal artefacts (VII century BC) from the necropolis of Crustumerium near Rome. The chemical composition was investigated using X-ray analysis, and digital acquisition was conducted for dissemination and enhancement purposes. This case study aims to show how the combination of virtual techniques (i.e., virtual anthropology and virtual reality) and X-ray imaging (XRI) can be useful tools for the study and communication of both ancient human remains and archaeological artefacts, especially when it is not possible to move and handle a fragile one.

Human mummies can often emotionally impact several people and affect the enhancement of territories. A new audience was born through the evolution of cultural tourism, as an example, in the case of the pop culture or fandom market, where tourism flows are aimed at the research of specific emotional experiences that are concentrated on literature or cinematic interests. Another revolution in the tourist industry is connected to the disputable case of dark tourism when the concept of travel meets the death topic. Human mummification catches both the abovementioned topics, and it may assign new forms and scopes in a typical schematic of geographic contests in territory enhancement.