A Virtual Museum of Pompeii “ex Votos”: Design Strategies

Safeguarding cultural heritage—preserving it from the neglect of time and abandonment—is not in itself enough that the patrimony truly constitutes a part of that slow process of identity which in its in- ner essence of heritage, that of inheritance, cultural heritage is called upon to participate. For this to happen, it is necessary that heritage is “accessible” in the sense that Jeremy Rifkin has attributed to this term—proposed as a “possible experience” in everyday lives. Thus, new digital technologies not only make it possible to build virtually unlimited “memory archives”, but also to access systems, with a dynamic and interactive consultation so that a new generation of ‘prosumers’ (producers/consumers) of the cultural heritage can give new meaning to it. This chapter investigates the potential and meaning of these new “memory archives” through the case study of the archive of the Ex Voto of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii and of the ‘stories’ that it treasures.