‘Translation’ and fruition of an ancient book through virtual reality in the case of lost cultural heritage case study: “inscriptiones” by emmanuel thesaurus

This article presents a methodology for historical information fruition, such as ancient books texts, in the tourism field. The case study highlights the great possibility that virtual reality (VR) offers to Cultural Heritage professionals in terms of communication and awareness raising of end users. This methodology, applied to the rare 17th century book by Emmanuel Thesaurus “Inscriptiones quotquot reperiri potuerunt Opera ed diligentia Emmanuelis Philiberti Panealbi”, allows us to show the lost seventeenth-century traits of the Marble Hall in Palazzo di Città (Turin). Tourists can be immersed in a virtual space based on the words of the ancient book within the real space of the Hall, which let him relive the early baroque project atmosphere. Through this work, it is possible to show how the use of cutting-edge ICT, such as BIM, can impact both on research and society, by arousing the public interest for Cultural Heritage and shared understanding.