Panel #3

PANEL - JUNE 19, 2026

Extended Reality technologies are increasingly transforming the ways in which cultural heritage is studied, interpreted, communicated and experienced. Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, WebXR, Artificial Intelligence and multiuser environments now offer new possibilities not only for visualisation and dissemination, but also for collaborative research, participatory interpretation, embodied learning, heritage monitoring and conservation. This panel presents a selection of applications, technologies and methodologies developed at the Italian National Research Council (CNR-ISPC), articulated around three complementary perspectives on XR for cultural heritage.

The session opens with an overview of heritage science at CNR-ISPC, framing the institute’s research agenda at the intersection of scientific investigation, digital technologies and the safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage.

The second contribution focuses on XR-based research infrastructures and immersive experiences, describing how scientific, cultural and societal challenges are addressed through the design, prototyping, evaluation and deployment of cultural heritage experiences across different technological ecosystems. Projects presented include PERCEIVE, with its multisensory interpretation applications; BRANCACCI POV, a fully immersive multiuser VR experience exploring collaborative presence and shared interpretation; ALDROVANDI (CHANGES project), a WebXR digital twin of a temporary exhibition investigating accessibility and browser-based interaction; and UNICHE, with its Exhibition Prototyper for rapid XR exhibition design and testing.

The third contribution explores the role of digital twins in heritage monitoring and conservation, drawing on the experience of the SENNSE project and the use of Mixed Reality technologies for the real-time observation and analysis of cultural assets. Particular attention is given to the integration of SENNSE within DIGILAB.it, the Italian node of E-RIHS ERIC, and to how semantic knowledge representation based on ontologies such as CIDOC-CRM enables interoperable, structured and reusable heritage data across the research infrastructure.

Costanza Miliani

CNR-ISPC

Alberto Bucciero

CNR-ISPC

Sofia Pescarin

CNR-ISPC

Costanza Miliani
Chemist and Research Director at CNR ISPC, which she has directed since 2019, Costanza Miliani specializes in non-invasive spectroscopic methods for the in situ analysis of cultural heritage materials. She conceived and coordinated MOLAB, a pioneering mobile laboratory for advanced physico-chemical diagnostics in museums and archaeological sites, and has led numerous European projects across FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, including the development of E-RIHS ERIC, whose Italian node she coordinates. Author of over 160 ISI-indexed publications (h-index 58), elected member of the Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze dei XL since 2026, and scientific coordinator for CNR of the PNRR Extended Partnership CHANGES, she sits on international committees including the Advisory Board of JPI Cultural Heritage and the Advisory Committee of the Rijksmuseum's Operation Night Watch.

Alberto Bucciero
Alberto Bucciero is a researcher at CNR-ISPC and responsible for the DIGILAB.it platform, the Italian National Node of E-RIHS ERIC, where he develops digital infrastructures for FAIR, interoperable and semantically structured heritage science data, including ontology-based knowledge representation for heritage science. His research integrates IoT, Digital Twins, AI and multichannel technologies within federated research environments, addressing heritage monitoring, conservation and knowledge management for cultural assets. He leads DHILab (CNR-ISPC, Lecce) and the CNR side of the laboratory DI4CH Lab joint with Unisalento, and contributes to projects including H2IOSC (PNRR-IR 2023), UNICHE (HORIZON EU 2025) and CHANGES (PNRR-PE 2023) at the intersection of extended reality, semantic interoperability and heritage science.

Sofia Pescarin
PhD in History and Computing, currently Research Director at CNR ISPC. Her research interests cover Virtual Archaeology, Digital Heritage, Virtual Museums, Embodied Museology, Applied Games, Interactive Media Design. She is Chief Editor of the Journal "Digital Application in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage" (DAACH), professor at the University of Bologna of Interaction Media Design. Among her projects: Virtual Museum of the Scrovegni Chapel of Giotto in Padova (2003), the Virtual Museum Transnational Network (V-MUST 2011-2014), Digital Heritage World Congress (2013-2025), Keys to Rome exhibition (2014), A Night in the Forum videogame (2019) PERCEIVE (2025), CHANGES Spoke 4, H2IOSC and recently UNICHE and COLOURS ECCCH Eu projects.