Italian Culture Incorporated into the Metaverse

In an project to digitize their cultural heritage into a virtual-reality space, the Aldo Moro University has incorporated their region’s culture of Puglia’s into the Metaverse.

Technological change is on the rise and it’s placing its focus on artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The University of Aldo Moro is the first school in Italy to take action to incorporate digital tools such as the metaverse, blockchain, and NFTs. This project is being lead by the the University of Bari’s Department of Humanities and Professor Giosue Prezioso, quoting that this will be ‘the first digital library of Italian culture’ to be integrated with the use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Additionally, companies all over Italy such as Arte maestra, Vrainers, and Cattive productions will also be aiming its efforts in the development of digitizing the significant cultural works of Puglia into the NFT world.

NFTs are a one-of-kind digital file; photo, song, or video games (as such examples) that are kept as a record on the blockchain. The blockchain functions as a digital ledger where anyone who purchases it can receive a copy of but they cannot change the original data recorded there.

Technology is inherently disruptive, and there’s no question that economic growth is propelled by incorporating technology convergence. In Forbesindia.com, Professor Prezioso states that this is “an initiative with a high technological, cultural and civil value in the Italian academic panorama, which reinvigorates Bari, its university and Puglia as a destination for a avant-garde and 4.0 culture.”

The digital foundation will help boost knowledge by virtually preserving Puglia’s thousand-year-old culture and bring awareness of consistent threats such as pathogens to their local olive trees in the form of a Pacman style video game, allowing for a more immersive digital experience. 

– Juliet Reyes