The Digital Future of World Heritage

A symposium on blended scholarship and management in the new millennium

April 2 - 4, 2014
Rome, Italy

Ground-breaking methods of documentation and interpretation of World Heritage Sites was the theme for a collaborative Symposium presented by the University of Notre Dame and the UNESCO World Heritage Center (WHC), in collaboration with Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Scholars in Sciences and Humanities are trying to uncover a layer of evidence from the past, using the technology of the future, in order to make sense of and reveal a particular reality. With the convergence of both traditional and new technologies, we are able to reveal a greater depth to the story that history has left behind.

The Symposium focused on the need for state-of-the-art tools and technologies that transform the way we think about documentation, interpretation, archiving and preservation for future generations. Technology transfer in the Humanities is still in an exploratory phase. Engaging University faculty from other fields with expertise in established technologies, such as georegistration, land and subsurface mapping/imagery, remote sensing, cartography, accelerator mass spectrometry and finite element methods, has the potential to inspire innovative methods of documenting heritage and furthering research on site. The Symposium was also a platform to present various techniques of merging scientific research with site management, and the benefits of such joint approaches to the improvement and management of World Heritage Sites. Government and State agencies involved in running sites were introduced to the latest techniques in documentation, analysis and historic research to study and maintain sites.

Thank you to all who were able to join us at this special event. Explore the tabs above to learn more about the Program, Speakers, Symposium site and the Exhibit of architectural research that launched concurrently with the Symposium.

Revisiting the Roman Forum: From Pen to Pixel

Revisiting the Roman Forum: From Pen to Pixel is a film by Prof. William Donaruma of the Notre Dame Department of Film, Television and Theatre that describes the DHARMA, School of Architecture, University of Notre Dame's work in partnership with the Sopritendenza Speciale Beni Culturali and the Ministry of Culture, Rome, Italy to document and exhibit the Roman Forum in 3D.