PAMU: A Multimedia Park to Enhance the Renaissance Walls of Padua

This contribution resumes the results of the research project “Parco Multimediale delle Mura di Padova (PAMU), valorizzazione di paesaggi e percorsi culturali in un’ottica creativa e innovativa” (ESF 2014-2020), realized thanks to the synergies between the IUAV University of Venice, the University of Padua and four establishments active in the Veneto territory. The main purpose of the project is the realization of a multimedia museum of the Walls of Padua. The proposal takes advantage of innovative strategies and technologies for spreading the knowledge concerning the history of the Renaissance Walls of the city. During the project, a huge amount of data was gathered, both from the digital surveys of the three relevant case studies (Porta Codalunga, Porta Pontecorvo and Torrione Alicorno) and the documentary sources retrieved from several museums and archives of the territory. The collected data was the starting point for the virtual reconstruction of the sites within the city walls, showing their transformations over the last five centuries. The outputs of the research converged into the realization of multimedia installations, designed to project audiovisual contents directly onto the walls by creating an emotional experience taking advantage of the suggestive environment of the historical sites. In addition, an augmented reality-based app allows the users to virtually visit the buildings through different periods of time, by locating tridimensional models in their original environments. Finally, a management plan and a website were conceived in order to lead the visitor, spread the knowledge and promote the Renaissance Walls of Padua.