Aquileia was once one of the greatest and liveliest towns of the Roman Empire. Visiting what remains of those glorious times is always charming, although the archaeological site of Aquileia is nowadays predominantly a ‘horizontal’ site: what survived the centuries mainly consists of beautiful paving and foundations, and of course those magnificent mosaics for which Aquileia is renowned. Unfortunately much of what used to elevate above that is gone destroyed in the centuries.

Aquileia Forum, with its 3D virtual representation, aspires to bring all that grandiose past back to life.

Through a meticulous computer-generated reconstruction, with the contribution of historians and historical documents, it is possible to represent on screen the town as it used to be, with its buildings, its streets, up to a level of detail that allows to represent even single objects in a 3D vision that is absolutely realistic.

The setting can be ‘brought to life’ with animation, music and sound effects; there can be virtual characters that ‘live’ in the virtual town too. Those visiting the 3D model will be able not only to witness the life as it was in Roman Times, but even become part of it.

This ‘virtual journey’ is a unique learning experience: it involves all of our senses and, compared to what possible on a book or on the archaeological site, it is enriched of details that have gone lost in the centuries. All this is available to all, without having to physically travel anywhere. A real jump into the past!

The elements of the project

Aquileia Forum aims to create an articulated multimedia system around the 3D virtual model of the Roman town of Aquileia. The idea is to put together a project that involves a variety of ways to use this virtual reality:

• Virtual Exploration - Online
• Mobile Guide - On site
• 3D Holograms – Museums

Through these innovative methods, Aquileia Forum can provide a unique learning experience of edu-tainment, which combines education and entertainment, with an appeal for the wide public and a special attractiveness to the youngest ones.