New Electronic Museum: the city in four dimensions: virtual Bologna

The aim of the project is to provide the public with a museum of the city of Bologna different from the traditional ones. In fact in many foreign cities the museum of the city is set up in a building, showcasing small urban objects (elements of sculptural decoration, small instruments for water management, etc..), wooden models reconstructing parts of the city or its buildings, equipment related to the economic and social life, maps, building plans and so on.

Computer applications of virtual reality are a valuable tool to provide new means of access to the history of a city. A virtual visitor can roam at will in the streets or stand on a tower or take off and fly over the present day city or its historical reconstruction, can walk under the porticoes or give e closer look at the battlements of the Asinelli tower.

The presence of a "time machine", available through the computer, allows visitors to venture into the past and see how the same location changed in different historical periods.

Started in the mid-'90s thanks to the foresight of Professor Francesca Bocchi, NUME was the first project of its kind in Italy, earning the participation at SIGGRAPH 1999. Currently the project is focusing on educational and aesthetic aspects and on the communicative opportunities of new media.