The Virtual Museum of European Roots
Creating awareness in the general public regarding prehistoric art and culture using new
technologies – especially virtually reality and the internet. This is the goal behind the international F-Museum (Form Multimedia System for a European Museum) international
project, created within the field of the sector-specific program entitled Leonardo da
Vinci. The heart of the program is the Virtual Museum of European Roots, accessibile at www.europeanvirtualmuseum.net, which allows visitors to view (remotely) a collection of artistic prehistoric masterpieces
from seven countries – Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Germany, Greece and Hungary –
by way of 3D rotating images accompanied by descriptive devices.
The Museum's resources can be explored (in four languages: Italian, English, Romanian and
Bulgarian), thanks to a number of search keys. The timeline includes six periods, (40000-20000 BCE; 20000-10000; 10000-7000;
7000-3500; 3500-2000; 2000 BCE - 0). Choosing to move by area, on the other hand, visitors have three starting points: Italy, Romania
and Bulgaria. One can also delve into the site via a visit to the individual museum complexes, which includes both the partner institutions as well
as the beneficiary ones. A very interesting option is the object search: one can select anthropomorphic figures, zoomorphic figures,
containers, amulets, tools, weapons and jewels.
The objects tell a story: in the section “Stories,” the artifacts are presented within
specific thematic explorations, based on individual aspects of cultural
evolution. Actual itineraries are also offered: for Italy, for example, in the areas of Pitigliano
and Manciano (Grosseto), of naturalistic, archeological and historical interest, as well as those
in the Lamone Woods Nature Reserve, which falls within the boundaries of the Municipality of
Farnese (Viterbo).
The F-Museum also includes, along with the Virtual Museum, a series of initiatives, both in terms of education and information and technology. As
far as the former, four educational modules divided according to professional ability for those working in online
museums are available (also in four languages: in English, as well as in Italian,
Bulgarian and Romanian): executive director, web designer, content and communication
managers. The F-Museum educational module was created to meet the needs for a standard of
necessary skills in virtual-museum management for everything from content creation to loadiing data
online, to creating a methodology for continuing education.
Sixteen thematic itineraries have been created for visitors, which can also be
accessed online (in four languages), to discover prehistoric cultures: from the practice of ancient
religious rites to the invention of wine, from the birth of agriculture to the design of the first
homes, from commerce to early forms of writing. For those who, on the other hand, wish to set off
on a discovery of the places where traces of prehistoric cultures can still be found, five themed tourist- culture itineraries have been planned: thousand-year paths
into art, archeology and nature. Both types are included in the book entitled Routes and itineraries from the Virtual Museum of the European Roots.
