The evolution in the technological key of society has, in fact, freed the usability of cultural heritage from the physical spaces of a well-defined, and however harmonious, building structure,47 to an infinite space constituted by the technosphere, and this has resulted in a repositioning of the use of cultural heritage so significant that some rightly speak of the birth of a New Renaissance of collections, that is, a time likely to foster knowledge by a type of tourist so to speak augmented48 which is precisely the so-called digital one. On the heels of such an outburst, and in tandem with the development of technologies in many areas of the economy, and on the well-founded assumption of prospective tele-urbanism, museums have similarly begun to implement increasingly IT-performing applications so as to create, on the one hand, new products and services such as remote guided tours, online exhibitions, and, on the other, new markets to benefit from other resources and additional capital.49 At this point, however, the question has been and is being asked, critically, what was and still is the value to the museum, to the economic development of the cities, and to society in general of such a tourist consumer inclined to entertainment more than in learning? And, indeed, the question, however suggestive, and in some ways perhaps misleading, has its own underlying seriousness, which, however, can be, in our view, scaled down out of some impoverishing moralizing, in the light of the most creditable economic-statistical data informing us that, either online or onsite, hence onlife,50 museums are always recognized as centers of authentic heritage content with vast collections of unique objects. Therefore, while respecting the value sensitivities of each of us, whether we adhere to the view of those who bear that authenticity is an important element in selecting destinations and promoting tourism activity, or whether we espouse the view of those who believe that tourists seek, and create, still always 47 D. Benyon, Spaces of Interaction, Places of Experience, Morgan & Claypool, US 2014. B. Pan, eTourism. Entry into Encyclopedia of Tourism, Springer, New York 2015. 48 C.D. Kounavis, A. E. Kasimati, E. Zamani, Enhancing the Tourism Experience through Mobile Augmented Reality: Challenges and Prospects, Intech Open Journal, 2012. K. Mackay, C. Vogt, C., Information technology in everyday and vacation contexts, in Annals of Tourism Research 2012. G. Lughi, New media culture: theories, tools, imaginary, Guerini e Associati 2006. 49 F. Cocchetti, F. Antinucci, and Others, Caracalla, A plunge into the past, how an immersive visitation project is born, Cultural heritage technologies section, Archeomatica, 2, June 2018. P. Williams, J.S. Hobson, Virtual reality and tourism: fact or fantasy? “Tourism Management,” Elsevier, September 1995. W. Wei Research progress on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality in tourism and hospitality, “Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology,” June 2019. 50 In the sign of L. Floridi’s iconic expression, The Onlife Manifesto: being human in a hyperconnected era, Springer 2015. 176 FRANCESCO GASPARI | LUIGI CAMERIERO
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