Project: Basilicata Heritage SmartLab
Implementation Objective: WP 3 – Living Basilicata Heritage
Work Package: WP 3.2 – LIVING HERITAGE LAB
Objective:
The project aims to enhance the historic village of Craco through advanced digital technologies, making its unique history and abandoned landscape accessible and interactive. Through detailed digitisation and virtual reconstruction, the project creates an innovative and immersive experience that brings Craco’s cultural heritage to life.
Key Activities:
Phase 1 | Digitisation through Aerial Photogrammetry
The first phase involved the use of drones equipped with LiDAR technology to survey the village of Craco. As many areas are inaccessible for safety reasons, aerial photogrammetry made it possible to capture accurate and comprehensive data across the site. During the 2022 surveys, drone filming tests and on-site assessments were carried out to identify the most effective viewpoints for video capture. This approach helped overcome accessibility constraints and provided the data required to create a detailed three-dimensional model of the village.
Phase 2 | 3D Modelling
The collected data were processed using DJI Terra to generate a 3D model of Craco, which was subsequently imported into Blender for cleaning and optimisation.This process improved the visual quality of the model, corrected potential inaccuracies and reduced polygon count, creating a lighter and more efficient asset ready for use in interactive applications.
Phase 3 | Application Design & Development
The 3D model was exported in .fbx format and imported into Unity to develop an interactive application. The platform allows users to explore Craco through a range of immersive features, including interactive 3D models and 360° video content that brings the village’s history to life. One of the application’s distinctive features is the ability to compare Craco as it appeared in the past with its present-day condition, creating an engaging visual narrative across time.
Application Features:
- Welcome screen: presentation of the project identity and language selection for the virtual experience.
- Past and present comparison: an interactive slider allows users to move between historical and contemporary images of the village.
- Points of Interest (POIs): significant locations across Craco are identified through interactive markers providing access to multimedia content, including historical photographs, videos and visual comparisons.
- Interactive 3D model: users can explore the village in three dimensions, zooming in and navigating through its buildings and structures.
- Multimedia content: each point of interest includes photographs, historical videos and 360° renders, enhanced by audio content to create a richer and more immersive experience.
Phase 4 | Testing & Optimisation
Throughout development, the application was extensively tested to ensure stable performance on touchscreen devices. Advanced editing techniques were also applied to optimise multimedia content, with particular attention to video stabilisation and frame-rate processing.
Expected Outcome
The project delivers an interactive platform that not only digitises and preserves the historical memory of Craco, but also makes it accessible through an innovative digital experience. By combining advanced technologies with immersive storytelling, users can explore the village across different periods in its history, creating an engaging and educational experience for visitors and anyone interested in history, culture and cultural heritage.
Conclusion
The digital enhancement of Craco demonstrates how emerging technologies can be used to preserve, interpret and communicate cultural heritage, transforming the memory of places at risk of being lost into an interactive and immersive experience for future generations.
Below is a breakdown of the eligible expenditure allocated to COMMED I A S.r.l. and the related funding awarded:
Eligible Industrial Research (RI) expenditure: €55,000.00
Eligible Experimental Development (SS) expenditure: €55,000.00
Total eligible expenditure: €110,000.00
Expected grant: €77,000.00
Actual expenditure:
Industrial Research (RI): €60,822.10
Experimental Development (SS): €55,451.25
Total grant awarded: €77,000.00
