Digital meets Culture

As part of Springer Series on Cultural Computing (SSCC)

“Endangered Heritage Sites: Enhanced Representations for Informed Solutions” book published

Following the editorial project that called for book chapters back in March 2024, the book Endangered Heritage Sites: Enhanced Representations for Informed Solutions has been published as part of Springer Series on Cultural Computing (SSCC).

The book explores three key dimensions of digital heritage research:

Smart heritage information systems
Heritage forensics
Interactive participation via virtual heritage applications

Highlights:

Offers a detailed analysis of advanced surveying methods and tools for decoding and analysing cultural heritage data
Shows the potential of enriched representations and integrated analyses via case studies of endangered heritage sites
Examines challenges in diagnostic knowledge and interventions for effective preservation strategies

Editors: Stefania Stellacci & Serdar Aydin

INFO: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-91949-7

Girona and online, 29 January 2026

SAVE THE DATE: EUreka3D-XR Demonstration Event & Workshop

The EUreka3D-XR organizes a Capacity Building and demonstration event at a moment when the project’s progress in the development of tools and pilot scenarios has become both visible and significant, offering tangible insights into how 3D and XR technologies can serve the cultural heritage sector.

29 January 2026, 9.30 – 16.00h (CET)
In Girona and Online
Venue: El Modern, Girona

Cultural Heritage professionals, archivists, researchers, and students of these fields are invited to an open event showcasing the outcomes of the project and mainly focusing on the innovative tools developed to enhance access and engagement with digital cultural heritage through 3D and Extended Reality (XR) technologies.

The day will be divided into two parts: a morning hybrid session, focused on demonstrations of the EUreka3D-XR tools and discussion on pilot scenarios; and an afternoon on-site workshop, dedicated to archivists and focused on hands-on experimentation with one of the project’s tools.

Draft programme:

Morning session (hybrid, in English)
9.30h – Welcome coffee
10.00h – Introduction
10.20h – EUreka3D-XR toolbox demonstration
11.20h – Q&A
11.30h – Round table The potential of 3D for Cultural Heritage
12.30h – Q&A and end of morning session
Lunch break
14-16h – Afternoon on-site workshop (English and Catalan): Archives in 3D. From Records to Objects

Detailed Agenda and registration coming soon: https://eureka3d.eu/demonstration-event-workshop/

Dealine: December 8 2026, h. 00.00

AIPAI Photo Contest 2026

“Geometrie dell’aridità” by Erica La Placa. 1st place AIPAI 24/25

AIPAI Photo Contest renews for its 4th edition!

The contest is designed to raise awareness and promote the culture of industry, the memory of work, the architectural, technological and landscape heritage of industrial archaeology, is aimed at professional photographers, amateurs, students, temporary or permanent groups, associations, without limits of age and nationality who will be able to tell, document and represent the industrial heritage through a photographic project that explore twelve macro-areas.

These thematic directions aim to create a mosaic of perspectives where photography is not just a tool of representation, but a true medium for historical and cultural interpretation.

Read how to participate on the official guidelines (IT) at this link.

Read the press release (IT) to learn more on themes, prizes and more:

AIPAI PHOTO CONTEST 2026
QUARTA EDIZIONE
28 settembre – 8 dicembre 2025

Comunicato stampa

Prende il via la quarta edizione dell’AIPAI PHOTO CONTEST 2026, il concorso fotografico organizzato dall’Associazione Italiana per il Patrimonio Archeologico Industriale ETS in collaborazione con: DICEA – Università Sapienza di Roma, Do.co.mo.mo Italia, Ministero della Cultura – Segretariato generale – Ufficio UNESCO, Parco Archeologico dell’Appia Antica, Parco Regionale dell’Appia Antica, Fondazione AEM (Milano), Fondazione ISEC (Sesto San Giovanni), Fondazione MAIRE – ETS (Roma), Fondazione musil (Brescia), RoMe Museum Exhibition e Rete Fotografia.

In palio due premi da 1000 euro, un premio da 500 euro, la pubblicazione sulla rivista “Patrimonio Industriale” e l’esposizione in una mostra itinerante degli scatti vincitori, menzionati e selezionati.

Il contest, ideato per sensibilizzare e promuovere la cultura dell’industria, la memoria del lavoro, il patrimonio architettonico, tecnologico e paesaggistico dell’archeologia industriale è rivolto a fotografi professionisti, amatori, studenti, raggruppamenti temporanei o permanenti, associazioni, senza limiti di età e nazionalità che potranno raccontare, documentare, rappresentare il patrimonio industriale attraverso un progetto fotografico, da presentare entro le ore 00.00 del 8 dicembre 2025.

I PREMI

Al primo classificato dell’AIPAI PHOTO CONTEST 2026 verrà riconosciuta una somma in denaro di euro 1000 per l’utilizzo delle immagini; la novità di questa quarta edizione è il Premio Giampietro Agostini, riconoscimento dedicato alla memoria del noto fotografo e membro di giuria dell’AIPAI PHOTO CONTEST, promosso in collaborazione con Rete Fotografia e conferito al progetto presentato da uno studente di una Scuola di Fotografia che saprà distinguersi per precisione compositiva, uso consapevole della luce e profondità narrativa, a cui sarà conferito un premio del valore di euro 500.

Si riconferma, inoltre, il Premio Mecenati di giovani talenti, che AIPAI ha voluto riservare a fotografi under 35, sostenuto anche quest’anno dalla Fondazione MAIRE – ETS, con cui si prevede la sottoscrizione, entro il 2026, di un contratto d’opera con la Fondazione avente ad oggetto la realizzazione di una campagna fotografica dedicata al patrimonio storico e archivistico del gruppo MAIRE, per un corrispettivo di euro 1.000.

Il vincitore del Premio Mecenati di giovani talenti della scorsa edizione, Giovanni Peyrone, sta realizzando per la Fondazione MAIRE – ETS una campagna fotografica sulla trasformazione della storica sede MAIRE di Via di Vannina (Roma) in polo di ricerca avanzata per la transizione energetica. La campagna mette al centro le figure professionali in cantiere e gli strumenti di lavoro, in un accostamento simbolico che esalta l’uomo e la tecnica, veri artefici del cambiamento.

AREE TEMATICHE

Gli autori sono invitati a misurarsi con dodici macro‑aree di ricerca visiva che spaziano dalla documentazione delle macchine e dei cicli produttivi storici alla rappresentazione dei paesaggi della produzione e delle infrastrutture urbane, fino alla sperimentazione di linguaggi contemporanei sul riuso, la rigenerazione e le pratiche di conservazione e restauro. Altri ambiti includono la memoria sociale del lavoro, la comunicazione visiva dell’industria, il turismo industriale e i processi di “seconda vita” del patrimonio.

Queste direttrici tematiche, ampie e complesse, mirano a comporre un mosaico di prospettive dove la fotografia non è soltanto strumento di rappresentazione, ma vero e proprio medium di interpretazione storica e culturale.

ESITI E PROSPETTIVE

I risultati del Premio AIPAI Photo Contest 2026 e delle sue sezioni speciali saranno resi pubblici il 5 febbraio 2026, in occasione della terza edizione degli Stati Generali del Patrimonio Industriale, articolata tra Bari, Matera e Lecce.

Il corpus fotografico dei progetti vincitori, menzionati e selezionati costituirà la mostra itinerante ospitata in prestigiose sedi espositive italiane, oltre a essere oggetto di un numero monografico della rivista Patrimonio Industriale e di una diffusione online tramite i canali ufficiali AIPAI ETS.

Il concorso, consolidatosi come momento di riferimento per la comunità scientifica e fotografica, riafferma la centralità della fotografia come pratica critica capace di coniugare cultura visiva e patrimonio industriale, restituendo nuova vita e nuove letture alla sedimentazione storica dei luoghi del lavoro e della produzione.

Per consultare il bando: https://www.patrimonioindustriale.it/aipai-photo-contest-2025/
AIPAI ETS- Associazione Italiana per il Patrimonio Archeologico Industriale

sede operativa
c/o DICEA Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile Edile e Ambientale,
Via Eudossiana,18, 00184 Roma

All the CH professionals and communities are invited to take the survey, regardless previous use or knowledge about EUreka3D tools and initiative.

Survey: Challenges in 3D cultural heritage management, storage, sharing

Understanding cultural heritage institutions’ current needs, challenges, and priorities in 3D digitisation and data management is crucial to shape sustainable, useful, and cost-effective services for the European heritage community.

For this reason, the EUreka3D initiative is launching a short survey that will take ca. 10 minutes to compile. All the CH professionals and communities are invited to take the survey, regardless previous use or knowledge about EUreka3D tools and initiative.

SURVEY: https://forms.gle/XniFvcMRobA8cmb16

EUreka3D and EUreka3D-XR projects are co-funded by EU to support Cultural Heritage Institutions (CHIs) in preserving, managing and providing access to 3D collections and reuse them in XR digital assets. They are both supporting projects to the common European data space for cultural heritage that is the flagship initiative in Europe for the digital trasformation of the cultural heritage sector.

As a major outcome of the projects, the EUreka3D Data Hub is a European alternative to private and commercial cloud services that guarantees full control on rights and content stored in EU, which supports high quality in 3D and reuse of collections, and facilitates sustainability of digitisation projects in Europe.

Additional services to CHIs such as 3D digitisation guidelines and support, capacity building and consultancy, and access to XR creation tools are provided as part of the EUreka3D Competence Center, the spin-off which will continue after the end of the EU funding period.

More info: www.eureka3d.eu

The concept of the Memory Twin in Digital Heritage is a key innovation that allows us to experience heritage that is not only seen, but also heard and understood

Open access publication: Memory Twins in Digital Heritage

3D Research Challenges in Cultural Heritage VI – DigitalTwin versus MemoryTwin

This book presents a collection of papers focussing on 3D digitisation in the domain of cultural heritage. The use of data acquisition technologies in digitising cultural heritage holds great potential for preserving and disseminating the history of mankind. However, to exploit these opportunities in full, comprehensive guidelines for documenting the process of digitisation are required. Only then can the efficiency and credibility of digital representations be assured.

Editors and Affiliations:
Marinos Ioannides, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
Eleanor Fink, International Cultural Heritage, Arlington, USA
Janet Anderson, Visiting Professor, ELTE, Budapest, Hungary
Antonella Fresa, Promoter s.r.l., Photoconsortium Association, Peccioli, Italy
Antony Cassar, Heritage Malta, Kalkara, Malta
Sander Münster, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany

This open access publication:

Explores 3D technologies used in the domain of cultural heritage
Suggests guidelines for paradata documentation
Compares Digital Twin with Memory Twin frameworks

The traditional Digital Twin, which is a virtual replica of a heritage asset is evolving. Through the integration of AI, BigData, and advanced 3D Reconstruction, we’re entering a new ERA: the age of the Memory Twin.

Unlike conventional digital models, the Memory Twin doesn’t just mirror the physical geometrical form of Monuments, Artefacts, or Sites. It remembers – embedding historical narratives, cultural meanings, Intangible knowledge, and Values directly into Smart and Intelligent 3D structures and representations. At its core lies Paradata as it is defined in the EU Study VIGIE 2020/654: the rigorous documentation and certification of every decision and process behind digital reconstruction. This ensures transparency, trust, scientific validity and high Authentic Quality results – the foundation for meaningful AI-driven heritage models. To guarantee quality, authenticity, identity and values, we advocate for a Certificate of Quality for both the input data and the AI-enriched outputs. This helps safeguard the integrity of cultural heritage in its digital form which ensuring it remains authentic, accessible, and IPR-free for future generations.

In the context of the book, among the many contributions from renowned experts, a paper about the research conducted during the EUreka3D project, addressing challenges of quality, infrastructure and competence so relevant in the community of cultural heritage institutions, is authored by Valentina Bachi and Antonella Fresa as EUreka3D project coordinator.

Access the publication on Springer: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-05656-6

OUT NOW: New Podcast IN SITU Dialogues

The IN SITU project participates in the SECreTOUR Network of Common Interest where the activities of the members of the network are promoted.

As part of the collaboration, we are glad to annouce the launch of the IN SITU Dialogues!

Place-based creativity from the ground up: a new podcast exploring how cultural and creative industries shape non-urban Europe.

Across 8 monthly episodes (Oct 2025–Spring 2026), the series will spotlight voices from 12 case studies in six regions, sharing stories of artists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders driving culture-based development.

Episode 1 features Nancy Duxbury and Mark Rainey in conversation with host Maria Batle, introducing the project’s aims and the role of IN SITU Labs in supporting local creativity and innovation.

🎧 Listen to the first episode now: https://insituculture.eu/in-situ-podcast/

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.

Collaboration agreement has started between SECreTour and GAL Elimos in October 2025

New collaborations of SECreTour with GAL Elimos

The SECreTour Network is growing!

GAL Elimos (Gruppo di Azione Locale Elimos) is a Local Action Group based in Calatafimi Segesta, in the Trapani area (Sicily).

Its mission is to foster local development and innovation through EU-funded rural development programs, supporting entrepreneurship, sustainable tourism, agri-food value chains, cultural heritage, and social inclusion projects.

The GAL Elimos actively promotes networking and partnerships at local, national, and international levels to enhance rural and coastal territories.

GAL Elimos has been partner of the INCULTUM project funded by the EU under the Horizon 2020 Programme. As a concrete outcome of the pilot that GAL Elimos run in INCULTUM, the Green Way has become a reality.

The Gren Way poster with the Castle of Calatafimi on the background

We look forward to share in the SECreTOUR Network more good news from GAL Elimos.

Website: www.galelimos.it
Social media / hashtag:
• Instagram: @gal_elimos Instagram
• Facebook: Gal Elimos

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.

Upcoming appointment: October 8th, Museo della Grafica (Pisa) at 4PM

UNFRAMED exhibition: a successful and still on-going series of cultural and artistic events

On the 19th of September, the UNFRAMED – Towards a New Reality exhibition was successfully opened at the Palazzo del Parlascio in Pisa, with the capability of uniting culture, research, and tourism. The vernissage was followed on the 24th by a conference titled “Art, Technology and New Perceptions”: the summit showed how different disciplines can converge in a neohumanist vision capable of placing humanity, its perceptions, and its needs back at the center, where a world enriched by synthetic algorithms is not necessarily colder or duller: on the contrary, it opens up new possibilities in the technical and artistic fields.

Alongside the exhibition, an international debate on digital art will be hosted by Museo della Grafica in Pisa on the 8th of October: after a meeting with Pisan schools in the morning, at 4PM the Museum it will be possible to participate to the conference “Dialogue on Digital Art: Around the Unframed Exhibition” led by Professor Alessandro Tosi, director of the Museum. The debate will offer a food for thought on the evolution of digital art, examining the role of institutions, the impact on tourism and the economy, and the connections between research, academies, and the local Pisan area. Expert speakers and artists both from Italy and China will attend, highlighting the involvement of both local and international institutions.

Read the press release (IT) at this link.

January 27-29, online

2026 International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) Online Meeting

The Online Meeting is intended for a wide range of participants and interested parties, including digital image repository managers, content curators, software developers, scholars, and administrators at libraries, museums, cultural heritage institutions, software firms, and other organizations working with digital images and audio/visual materials.

As a counterpart to the IIIF in-person Annual Conference, this event is meant both to introduce newcomers to IIIF and to provide a forum for discussion and dissemination for those with experience implementing and working with IIIF in a variety of contexts.

Call for proposals is open until November 3: more information can be found on the call for Proposals page. Registrations are open until November 25.