VirtualArch: a mobile App to valorize the medieval mines of Mt. Calisio

Hello everyone,

this post regards an European Project we worked on this year: VirtualArch. The aim of this project was the tourist enhancement of some European sites characterized by an hidden (not directly visible) Cultural Heritage.

Our task was to find a way to show the medieval mines of Mt. Calisio, near the city of Trento. Most of these silver mines are not yet open to visitors and are hidden under some interesting cultural paths, created by the Ecomuseo Argentario (the ancient name of Mt. Calisio). In order to allow tourists to understand this interesting hidden heritage, we developed a mobile app, which guides the visitors through three paths, showing information about the ancient mines and their cultural landscape.

The first problem to solve was the interoperability of the app, which had to run on different mobiles (with Android, IOS, Windows, etc...). Our solution has been the development of an open source App (here the code), based on internet language, in order to be visualized without problem on most of the mobile, regardless on the Operating System. We also had to produce most of the multimedia content and, as requested by our customer (The Archaeological Office of the Autonomous Province of Trento), we rendered several 4D video regarding the life in the silver mines during Medieval age. We prepares this material with our 3D expert Cicero Moraes, thanks also to the technical advices of Dr. Nicoletta Pisu (Archaeological Office) and Dr. Lara Casagrande (Ecomuseo Argentario).

The App can be downloaded with a mobile device at this link. Due to the fact that, currently, on Mt. Calisio there is no internet, the App should be completely downloaded on the device before to reach the site. For some tasks, the App will ask to use specific devices on mobile systems, like the GPS (to track the position on the paths) or the camera (to be used for Augmented Reality). Being based on an internet language (PHP, JS, etc...), the same link will also show the App on normal computers, but without optimization for texts, images and videos.

If you want to have a preview of this App, you can simply watch the three videos here below, showing the three cultural paths and their Points Of Interest (POI).

SENTIERO DELLE GRAVE / GRAVE'S PATH

This cultural paths is called "Sentiero delle Grave" and crosses three POI (Points Of Interest) of a cultural landscape due to the unloading of silver mining waste, which made the surrounding woods more like a savannah.

POI 1: text and images about the animals living in this habitat

POI 2: text, images and video (a flight with a drone) about the anthropic landscape of the "Grave"

POI 3: text and images about the flora of the "Le Lore" peat bog

SENTIERO DEGLI GNOMI / GNOMES PATH

This paths is called "Sentiero degli gnomi" and crosses five POI (Points Of Interest) of natural and cultural landscape related with the figure of gnomes and dwarfs, historically (locally) deriving from the "canopi", the ancient miners.

POI 1: text, images about the "Canopi" (medieval silver miners) and the derived figures of the folklore (gnomes and dwarfs), with a 360° panoramic view (the damages of the storm "Vaia" on the wood).

POI 2: text and images about the local lime kiln

POI 3: text and images about the "Montegpiano's peat bog" flora.

POI 4: text and images about the dress of the "Canopi" and about the local mine called "Canopa del Raita", with a video showing the exploration of its caves.

POI 5: text and images about the local mine of the "Dos del Cuz", with a slider showing the superimposition of an aerial orthophoto over the LIDAR 3D model and the map of the caves. A 3D video shows the old work outside the mines.

SENTIERO DELLE CANOPE / CANOPE'S PATH

This paths is called "Sentiero delle Canope" and crosses eight POI (Points Of Interest) of a cultural landscape related with the ancient silver mines (called "Canope") of Mt. Calisio.

POI 1: text and images about the S. Colomba's lake and the surrounding area, characterized by many mine shafts, visible in the slider showing the superimposition of an aerial orthophoto over the LIDAR 3D model of the area.

POI 2: text and images about the ancient tools used by the miners ("Canopi"), visible within a gallery, with an interactive 3D model (in 3DHOP), showing the work under the surface.

POI 3: text and images about the local "Canopa delle Acque", with a video showing a virtual tour inside the mine.

POI 4: text and images with some technical information about the geology of the area, with a 3D video showing a section of the mountain with the "Canopa delle Acque"

POI 5: text and images about the local "Canopa dell'Uccello", with a gallery about the minerals of the area.

POI 6: text and images about the local "Canopa dei Bamponi"

POI 7: text and images about the panorama visible from the belvedere, with some information about the archaeological site of the "Redebus" (gallery) and about the historical Erdemolo's mines (Miniere di Erdemolo / Gruab va Hardimbl)

POI 8: text and images with technical information about the ancient excavation methods, with an Augmented Reality application to show 3D models of ancient tools.

I hope this post was useful.

If you want to try the App (also without visiting the sites) and you are not an Italian speaker, there is an English translation done by Claudio Parisi (just download the App and choose the English option).

Have a nice day!