Today, the practice of making digital replicas of artworks and restoring and recontextualizing them within artificial simulations is widespread in the virtual heritage domain. Virtual reconstructions have achieved results of great realistic and aesthetic impact. Alongside the practice, a growing methodological awareness has developed of the extent to which, and how, it is permissible to virtually operate in the field of restoration, avoid a false sense of reality, and preserve the reliability of the original content. However, there is not yet a full sharing of meanings in virtual restoration and reconstruction domains. Therefore, this article aims to clarify and define concepts, functions, fields of application, and methodologies. The goal of virtual heritage is not only producing digital replicas. In the absence of materiality, what emerges as a fundamental value are the interaction processes, the semantic values that can be attributed to the model itself. The cognitive process originates from this interaction. The theoretical discussion is supported by exemplar case studies carried out by the authors over almost twenty years. Finally, the concepts of uniqueness and authenticity need to be again pondered in light of the digital era. Indeed, real and virtual should be considered as a continuum, as they exchange information favoring new processes of interaction and critical thinking.

Experience design, both in real and in virtual museums, is very complex to be planned, even more when digital contents are juxtaposed to real collections. Researchers in this field, curators, creatives and software developers must work together in order to evolve towards a more efficient interconnection among visitors, collections and digital applications. This paper deals with such an interconnection, providing a theoretical background and practical guidelines, on the basis of museum studies and of the author’s research experience in this domain, supported by the results of surveys carried out on European museums visitors dealing with digital technologies. Media hybridization has a long and evolving tradition and it can contribute to transmit culture in engaging way to the public, respecting the scientific plausibility of contents. The choice of narrative structures and styles, as well as of interaction paradigms and technologies, is deeply conditioned by a series of factors that will be examined in detail. A general “direction” is needed to arouse in the visitor a feeling of confidence and trust, expectation and discovery that makes him/her feel at the center of an emotional and creative experience, of a progressive appropriation of meaning. Various typologies of experiences will be discussed and compared.

In a museum context, people have specific needs in terms of physical, cognitive, and social accessibility that cannot be ignored. Therefore, we need to find a way to make art and culture accessible to them through the aid of Universal Design principles, advanced technologies, and suitable interfaces and contents. Integration of such factors is a priority of the Museums General Direction of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, within the wider strategy of museum exploitation. In accordance with this issue, the IntARSI project, publicly funded, consists of a pre-evaluation and a report of technical specifications for a new concept of museology applied to the new Museum of Civilization in Rome (MuCIV). It relates to planning of multimedia, virtual, and mixed reality applications based on the concept of “augmented” and multisensory experience, innovative tangible user interfaces, and storytelling techniques. An inclusive approach is applied, taking into account the needs and attitudes of a wide audience with different ages, cultural interests, skills, and expectations, as well as cognitive and physical abilities.

This paper examines multisensory museums, envisioned as extended or hybrid realities where the physical and digital coexist to offer cognitively and emotionally engaging experiences to the public, while enhancing the sense of authenticity. Multisensory communication can improve accessibility, as it conveys the content through multiple perceptual channels, and it can solicit more inclusive, participatory, and creative audience engagement through the stimulation of emotions. A methodological approach to digitisation, communication strategies, interaction, creative storytelling, immersive technologies, and accessibility issues are discussed in depth, in relation to emerging museological practices. Machine learning and generative AI are opening new scenarios in management practices and decision-making, in data analyses and in natural language processing, and in the creation of personalised content addressed to the audience. A short overview about how these algorithms evolve and work is presented, considering the challenges, threats, expectations, and ethical implications they pose. Another key topic is the sense of authenticity. How is it changing in today’s users? How do virtual and mixed realities, storytelling, and user experience design in museums influence it? This paper explores these issues, presenting some case studies which have cultural, social, philosophical, and ethical implications, at a time when museums are redesigning their role in a society undergoing profound transformation.

Commissioned to ALES spa by the Ministry of Culture (MiC), the e-Archeo project was born with the intention of enhancing and promoting knowledge of some Italian archaeological sites with a considerable narrative potential that has not yet been fully expressed. The main principle that guided the choice of the sites and the contents was of illustrating the various cultures and types of settlements present in the Italian territory. Eight sites were chosen, spread across the national territory from north to south, founded by Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians, natives and Romans. e-Archeo has developed multimedia, integrated and multi-channel solutions for various uses and types of audiences, adopting both scientific and narrative and emotional languages. Particular attention was paid to multimedia accessibility, technological sustainability and open science. The e-Archeo project was born from a strong synergy between public entities, research bodies and private industries thanks to the collaboration of MiC and ALES with the CNR ISPC, 10 Italian Universities, 12 Creative Industries and the Italian National Television (RAI). This exceptional and unusual condition made it possible to realise all the project’s high-quality contents and several outputs in only one and a half years.