‘Meta experience’, in Palermo space between art and parallel dimension

The future has arrived. As we speak it has already crossed the limits of reality, in that “metaverse” of which so much is talked about even if still unknown to most. At the Royal Palace of Palermo the future is now tangible to enhance and relive art and history thanks to μετα [Palazzo Reale > Meta Experience], a new experiential space that projects the visitor into a parallel dimension, in which technology and innovation remain totally at the service of art for a more in-depth use and protection of the artistic and cultural heritage over time. This is a further design step in the cultural management of Palazzo Reale by the Federico II Foundation which in the last five years has completely revolutionized the visitor experience with the opening to the public of new spaces, the creation of unpublished exhibitions with the great artists on the world stage and a new bookshop with an international flavor. Thanks to “μετα” it is possible to deliver the masterpieces of art to infinity, immune to time, climate change, wars, earthquakes, floods, making them usable wherever man can settle in the future. Protected by memory. Once there were freehand sketches, then the first photographs and the smartphone: all means to fix the image of the work of art in the memory. Today a new system relies on technology and innovation to make masterpieces invincible. By entering the dimension of “μετα”, visitors to the “Monumental Complex of the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel” can realize firsthand how innovation applied to cultural heritage is not an abstract and foreign concept but is practicable and allows in this case to enter in symbiosis with works of art like never before. The visitor witnesses the process of dematerialization and materialization of the great masterpieces of art in front of the original, he discovers how the identity of the work is created (with the vision of the point cloud), he will be immersed in the “Infinity room”. He can also bring home the result of that process, that is the works of art in eco-sustainable materials. Two exceptional examples await the visitor: the Giovinetto di Mozia in a pop “dress”, eco-sustainable, imposing, which introduces the extraordinary reproduction of the Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo, suspended as if to soar in flight. It will be possible to observe it in its smallest details, a discovery for those who have never seen it live, a rediscovery for those who remember it and an incentive to visit the original. And as an introduction, an important witness: the original marble portrait of Octavian Augustus, the most faithful portrait of the first emperor ever found in Sicily, who after 83 years from the discovery has returned to his Centuripe after being kept for a long time at the Paolo Museum Bears of Syracuse. The work was exceptionally lent by the Regional Museum of Centuripe (Archaeological and Landscape Park of Catania and the Aci Valley), thanks to the partnership with the Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity. It will be only the first of a long series of works of art that will come from museums all over Sicily and from private and public collections, alternating as “hosts” in the μετα Experience. The collaborations, in fact, will be extended from time to time to museum institutions, art galleries and even regional and national collectors, who will want to exhibit the works in the μετα space at Palazzo Reale, where almost one million visitors pass through every year. The project, co-financed by Invitalia and the Ministry of Culture in the context of Cultura Crea, was born from the partnership between the Federico II Foundation and Forma Rei onlus for the development of technological innovation in the cultural field. Forma Rei is a young association born with the aim of disseminating and promoting the value of the digitization of Cultural Heritage, which draws on the technological innovation experience of the Artficial startup that has digitized over two thousand works of art in recent years, creating a real Spotify of international sculptural art. The idea is very simple: to apply the same digitization process of cultural heritage to visitors to make them understand their value and future implications. Easy, intuitive, immediate. “The faithful reproduction of the works – says Patrizia Monterosso, director general of the Foundation – will give visitors the opportunity to enhance the enormous Sicilian and therefore Italian cultural heritage. Through technology it is possible to understand how important memory is digital and identity of works of art for the custody and protection but above all to push tourists more and more inside the museums “. All this stems from a project co-financed by Invitalia and the Ministry of Culture in the area of ​​Culture creates and under the aegis of Pon: an instrument, adds Monterosso, “at the service of art and never outside the authentic enjoyment of the works”. In an era marked by pandemics, wars and economic uncertainty, the future seems far from rosy and in contemporary society we risk losing sight of the importance of the cultural sphere. In this context μετα [Palazzo Reale > Meta Experience] intends to create values ​​for the future by triggering in the individual and in the community an interest and understanding for art, as well as civic awareness of the protection of artistic memory. The experience is enriched by an absolute novelty, “Quickscan”: the user of the μετα Space is scanned in six seconds and will immediately receive their digital identity. He can then decide whether to use it: avatar to access the Metaverse or whether to give it to his grandchildren to keep the memory of his face alive as a young man, or whether to have his bust made of eco-sustainable material. After all, some argue that every human being, as unique, is a work of art. Info on www.formarei.org. Ernesto Somma, Invitalia Incentives and Innovation Manager explains: “With the Cultura Crea program, Invitalia has supported the realization of a project that offers the visitor an innovative experience, through the digitization of cultural assets and their re-materialization through eco-sustainable materials. This way of using cultural heritage makes it possible to reach new targets potentially interested in. The enlargement of the fruition targets of cultural heritage is particularly consistent with the aims of the measure and the PON Culture & Development 2014-2020, focused on the concept of audience development. It is therefore central to increasing the demand for culture in a double direction: in terms of widening tourist flows but also in relation to the identification of those who live in a territory and begin to appropriate its history, culture and identity through the use of cultural heritage “.