AR/VR Contextualization of the Statue of Zeus from Solunto

Abstract

The aim of the research is to test how VR and AR technologies can contribute to a virtuous reconnection between the museums, where archaeological works of art are exhibited, and the sites where these works come from. The connection between the museum and the site will be operated with panoramic images generated with SfM photogrammetric tools; these images will set up a twofold reconnection: i) between the work of art and the building where it was hosted; ii) between the building and the site, with the landscape around. The connection between the site and the museum will be operated with Augmented Reality, through the visualization on site of the works of Art exhibited in the archaeological museum. The case study is the giant statue of Zeus, today exhibited at the archaeological museum A. Salinas of Palermo; the statue was found in the site of Solunto, a Roman town located 20 km east of Palermo.