The Scale Model of Mirafiori Castle: AR Applications for Inclusive Enjoyment of Cultural Heritage

The research project on Mirafiori Castle, funded by the European project proGIreg, results from an agreement between the Department of Architecture and Design of the Politecnico di Torino and the Municipality of Turin. The castle, once one of the out-of-town residences of the Savoy family, at the present time no longer exists: this is the reason why the early stages of the research produced an augmented reality experience, supported by an information panel placed in the surroundings of the castle ruins, aimed at the localization and visualization of the castle in its heyday. The most recent phases of the work, currently in progress, see the research team engaged in the creation of a scale model of the castle through digital fabrication processes, as a media of inclusive fruition, with which to associate AR contents that enrich the model with various information, geared toward understanding the artifact in relation to the cultural context in which it was built and its stages of transformation, historical events involving the royal family, and the customs and amusements of court life.