DIGITIZATION AND VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE OF MUSEUM COLLECTIONS. THE VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE CIVIC ART GALLERY OF ANCONA

Digital technologies have been shown to be highly effective in many activities related to Cultural Heritage (CH). Among the several impacts discussed in the last few decades, this paper focuses on digitization as a tool for the documentation and the experience of a museum collection. Taking advantage of image-based techniques, a digital replica of the Civic Art Gallery of Ancona was generated. Virtual interactions with the digitized artworks were then enabled and tested in the framework of a Virtual Tour (VT), designed as a solution for the museum to reach a wider public. The evaluation of the VT User eXperience (UX) proved the effectiveness of this tool, highlighting positive connections between the considered dimensions of the VT. The questionnaire scores will inspire further improvement to provide a better educational experience and engage more users.