This multimedia installation adds value to the history, art and culture o Parco Coronini Cronberg and promotes its cultural landscape role.
Virtual and augmented reality, a mobile tour app, a website and multimedia stations are the technologies that will emotionally engage visitors, putting them at the centre of the experience.
The development project will be carried out by ETT in collaboration with 490 Studio S.r.l. and GSNET Italia. It will focus on accessible enjoyment, with a multisensory Sense station and the adjustable-height touch table allowing all visitors to fully enjoy the experience.
Gorizia, 11 March 2024 – Parco Coronini Cronberg, the cherished historical oasis in the heart of Gorizia, will regain its original characteristics as a Mediterranean and landscape garden thanks to an ambitious
redevelopment and restoration project that began recently and will be completed by the end of the year.
The operation, funded with a contribution of €1,742,000 obtained in June 2022 as part of the PNRR – Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) tender “Investment 2.3
Programmes to promote the identity of places: historic parks and gardens”, is a significant commitment to the Fondazione Palazzo Coronini
Cronberg mission to preserve and make the Coronini family artwork accessible.
The park, spanning an area of five hectares on various levels, was created at the end of the nineteenth century under the guidance of Count Alfredo Coronini. Its natural and artificial elements form a succession of picturesque views where green components alternate with sculptures, staircases, terraces, pergolas, fountains, and stretches of water. Inspired by the creation of Maximilian of Habsburg at his Miramare residence, it offers visitors ever-changing, surprising and particularly charming walks.
The redevelopment and restoration project aims to restore the original characteristics of this Mediterranean landscape garden, following thorough historical-documentary research.
It will be fundamentally important to work on the flora by clearing invasive and dangerous vegetation, freeing the main viewpoints and reintroducing Mediterranean species that used to be the most
characteristic feature of Parco Coronini Cronberg.
At the same time, measures will be taken to ensure that the park may be enjoyed to the full. This will involve cleaning and restoring paths,
architectural structures, embankments and retaining walls, as well as fitting lighting, signage, and interactive tools and routes as a mark of innovation and inclusion.
PLANNED ACTIONS
The project, by the Temporary Association of Professionals led by architect Giulio Valentini, along with architects Mina Fiore, Antonio Stampanato, Ilenia Zimoil, and industrial expert Maria Grazia Wilfinger, was devised to meet the following aims:
- to refresh and requalify the park by raising standards of management, maintenance, safety, and hospitality, ensuring its best long-term conservation;
- to strengthen the park’s identity by improving the quality of the landscape and creating new centres of cultural and touristic satisfaction, contributing thereby to positive economic development and employment outcomes, especially for young workers;
- to participate in enhancing the environmental values chosen as guidelines by the PNRR, promoting the development of functions with direct and positive environmental impact – such as reducing environmental pollution, regulating the microclimate, generating oxygen and protecting biodiversity;
- contributing, through the park’s intrinsic characteristics and educational activities, to the spread of renewed environmental and landscape sensitivity.
These actions will permit the park to reopen, giving free access to visitors and allowing the possibility to host cultural, artistic, educational, and gastronomic events.
So far, the two main tenders have been awarded: one for landscaping and plant engineering, for €764,633.58, won by a Temporary Association of Companies led by Aprile Alessandro srl from Sevegliano-Bagnaria Arsa (UD), together with Tecno Advance of Paolo Roberto Verre from Gorizia and Esedra Restauri srl from Udine; and the other for the design and implementation of multimedia solutions, totalling €382,574.91, won by a Temporary Association of Companies between ETT from Genoa and GS Net Italia Srl from Rome.
The works will also include various restoration works on the perimeter walls and other structures. Some of the pathways winding through the park will be modified by upgrading the paving surfaces to make them
accessible to disabled people. New systems will be installed for water collection and dispersion, and photovoltaic panels will be installed. Among other safety features, protective components will be placed near the Rock Garden embankments.
The pool area will be completely redeveloped. The pool itself will be converted into a rainwater tank for the new irrigation systems and grass-covered, making the area safer and much more versatile and usable. New terraced steps will lead to the Pool Court by the ancient Via della Scala stairway and two new paths will go to the lower part of the park from the existing entrances in Via della Scala and Via Brass.
The old Torrente Corno streambed area will be fitted out with mainly below-ground-level facilities to stage performances. Another area will be dedicated to outdoor educational activities.
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
This project is not a mere physical restoration of the park. It looks to the future, with a modern approach to the visitor experience delivering innovative multimedia solutions for the use and enrichment of Parco Coronini Cronberg.
Inside the palace, a Virtual Reality Corner will have six VR stations, offering visitors an emotional digital immersion into the beauty and history of the park and the palace. Additionally, an interactive multimedia
station will let visitors explore the history and evolution of the park and palace, using a 3D model and a temporal navigation system.
The website will be completely revamped and feature a section for booking visits with an online ticketing system. An app for mobile devices will be released showing various thematic routes within the park and the palace. It will also provide a virtual tour and augmented reality tools, in-depth articles and interactive content, all available in Italian, English, and Slovenian.
All these tools will incorporate a variety of approaches to suit different user profiles. They will offer accessible routes for people with visual and hearing impairments. Tactile maps and braille signs will also be installed in the park to enhance the experience for people with disabilities. A Sense station will also be installed in the Virtual Reality Corner. A typhlodidactic model will assist visually impaired and blind visitors to increase their tactile exploration ability. Users will physically touch a bas-relief reproduction of the park and hear explanations triggered by special sensors. Sense technology ensures an inclusive and extended multisensory discovery experience, even for the visually impaired who cannot use VR technology. The model combines tactile perception with the added value of narration. The incorporated sensors activate content when touched, and hands are free to move and explore the model independently, without interference that could impair a cognitive and relational experience.
“ETT’s involvement in the redevelopment project of Parco Coronini Cronberg in Gorizia – emphasized Giovanni Verreschi, CEO and founder of ETT SpA – intends to expand the site’s usefulness by using technology. Immersive Virtual Reality experiences allow users to personally relive the events related to the history of the park and the palace, together with additional content in Augmented Reality. Public engagement is further enhanced by the mobile app: users can follow various thematic itineraries on their smartphones and plan routes that most interest them. The new website also provides assistance. At the same time, efforts have been made to broaden the visitor experience in terms of accessibility, with a multisensory Sense station combining tactile and auditory perception. Particular emphasis has been given to assisting visitors with reduced mobility, and a touch table can be adjusted to various heights. We are pleased that we can contribute to promoting the treasures of Parco Coronini, one of the most significant testimonies of Central European culture in Italy during the period between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, combining new enhancement opportunities with a more accessible visiting experience.”