Warwick teams up with Venice's Ca’ Foscari University to create museum exhibitions of the future
Working with Venice, in Venice
Warwick is collaborating with Ca’ Foscari University in Venice to analyse Roman artefacts in a history project which could change the face of museums for the 21st century.
Teams from WMG first met Ca’ Foscari historians at the launch of the Warwick Venice Centre earlier this year. Our two universities aren't strangers - we've been working together through Warwick's Venice base and our partnership in the the EUTOPIA alliance - but this particular project sees a newly-formed team come together to scan and analyse ancient items from Roman and pre-Roman Venice, in 3D and virtual reality (VR) forms.
What this means for museums
Researchers hope that this work could revolutionise how people experience historical items - for example in museums. Instead of studying items in glass cases, visitors will be able to experience history in a whole new way as they hold 3D versions or study VR versions of these artefacts.
A team effort
Historians at Ca’ Foscari are analysing these ancient artefacts, while engineers at Warwick use cutting-edge imaging technology to scan the items in incredibly high definition.
This helps historians read writing from the period and is especially vital when some items have been damaged or are fragmented.
Academics from Warwick and Ca’ Foscari presented their findings at a conference in Venice on Friday 24 November, highlighting the potential of the combined arts knowledge of Ca’ Foscari and the technology of WMG.
Research at the Warwick Venice Centre
This exciting project is one of the first to take place from our new base: the Warwick Venice Centre.
Professor Rachel Moseley, Chair of the Faculty of Arts at Warwick, said she was "delighted" that the Warwick Venice Centre brought this team of researchers together and is already encouraging collaboration "in a hugely positive way."
WMG's Professor Mark Williams agreed, commenting that this partnership is "an excellent example of universities working together."
Associate Professor Lorenzo Calvelli, a historian at Ca’ Foscari University, added: "It has been excellent to meet and collaborate with colleagues from Warwick. I am very excited about our future plans to dive deeper into the treasure trove of artefacts that is waiting for us..."
Find out more
Above and left: Researchers scan ancient artefacts in our new Warwick Venice Centre.