In a pre-Palladian villa in Vicenza, a courageous project uses design and technology to create new visitor experiences that do not visually affect the interiors but enrich them with new, unexpected interactions

Rich in furnishings, works of art, coverings and fabrics ranging from the 16th to the 19th century, with a huge hall overlooking the splendid garden and the wonderful stables (where each horse had its own carved wooden box marked by columns) the Castello di Thiene is like a treasure chest full of stories as well as History.

Located in the centre of the town 25 km from Vicenza (and also of an ideal circuit of Palladian-style villas in the province of Vicenza, of which its Castle represents a precursor), this splendid 16th-century residence is still managed by the Thiene family, in particular by Francesca di Thiene, who - thanks to a strong commitment from the Veneto Region - started a process of renewal of the visiting experience more than a year ago to attract new audiences.

Dotdotdot_Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio_02
Ph. Melania Dalle Grave - DSL Studio

How do you bring innovation to a historic place?

Bringing innovation to a place like this to attract new audiences, without affecting its authenticity, is a huge design challenge.

You have to tell it, without falling into notionalism; create intriguing narratives, but also historically relevant; use more immediate methods of fruition, without losing the d'antan atmosphere of the spaces.

To address this, Francesca di Thiene decided to use technology in a subtle way and allow the visitor to discover new parallel narratives dedicated to the Castle, high tech in substance but discreet, practically invisible.

The soft tech project, created by several design studios, was presented last Saturday and consists of an augmented reality app (developed by the Portuguese VizitAR) and a path of "magic mirrors" (conceived and designed by Dotdotdot, the architecture and interaction design studio specializing in the creation of narrative environments, based in Milan).

Read also: Dotdotdot: what is a digital archive and why does it serve brands

Dotdotdot_Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio_03
Ph. Melania Dalle Grave - DSL Studio

“Tuning in with the contemporaneity of language and opening up to increasingly demanding and diversified audiences is one of the great challenges of the contemporary cultural sector,” explains Laura Dellamotta, Co-founder and General Manager of Dotdotdot. “Designing an innovative experience and staging stories in space is a strategic curatorial choice that enhances cultural assets and enriches knowledge and understanding of our heritage.”

An interactive experience where technology is invisible but intriguing

To transform the rooms of Thiene Castle into narrative environments capable of surprising, intriguing and informing a larger and increasingly demanding audience, Dotdotdot has created a visitor experience in which, like in fairy tales, magic mirrors speak.

The route, which unfolds in various rooms of the splendid 16th-century Venetian villa, is identified by interactive mirrors whose shapes recall iconic architectural elements of the palace: portals, trilobate windows, battlements and pointed arches.

On the surface of each mirror, an object-symbol of the room in which it is positioned appears, disappears and the image twirls. The system is activated by proximity, when it detects the presence of a person. The voice-over of a character (a digital representation built from images of works of art in the castle) then begins its story, transporting the visitor behind the scenes of History: to discover, in a dynamic and engaging evolution, the culture of gaming between the 19th and 20th centuries, the female customs between dressing and preparation, the daily life of horses and riders, the buying and selling practices typical of the stables of the time.

Dotdotdot_Melania Dalle Grave – DSL Studio_05
Ph. Melania Dalle Grave - DSL Studio

Designing storytelling (starting from History)

To design the path, the Dotdotdot team selected the most representative artworks of the Castle, studying their characters and stories.

Through a process of digitization and animation, four personalities, considered the most suitable to take on the role of narrators, were animated using images of works of art from the castle and manipulating them with artificial intelligence.

With their own voices, the narrators tell the stories of life at the Castle to visitors through the medium of the mirror, offering intriguing, unexpected and entertaining narratives, the result of solid historical research, also accessible to a foreign audience.

Augmented Reality

The VizitAR App, on the other hand, allows visitors to discover life at the Castle as it was in past centuries, right from entering the courtyard: through the use of augmented reality on your smartphone, it is possible to reread the original function of the large noble court. The immersive experience, which also extends to other visitable spaces, was created by a team of designers, 3D artists, programmers, researchers, actors and narrators who conducted research in collaboration with the castle's historical archive.

“I hope – says Francesca di Thiene – that our desire to invest in our territory does not remain an isolated act but can be part of a large project to promote the Thiene area and the Pedemontana. The Veneto Region has already demonstrated this by believing in our project. A virtuous example to follow”. The Castle is part of Adsi, Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane and is the symbol of the city of Thiene.

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