Despite the pandemic context, the annual LuBeC (Lucca Beni Culturali) conference still took place this year, confirming its role as a key forum in Italy where cultural organisations and institutions meet to discuss technological solutions for cultural tourism, with a particular focus on sustainability.
On this occasion, our contribution to the debate focused on how small and medium-sized cultural organisations can take on the challenge of digital transformation by adopting solutions that are both sustainable and capable of engaging their audiences.
The case study presented by our founder, Luna Meli, during the session Techniques and tools for public engagement between museums and territories, concerned the adoption of a multimedia web-based audio guide by the Museo San Benedetto in Catania. The organisation that manages the site needs to balance public access to areas of historical and artistic interest with the spiritual life of the convent, which is still cloistered today, while also ensuring that the chosen solution is sustainable over time.
The full panel discussion is available to watch on YouTube, and the presentation can be downloaded from the LuBeC website.
The complete text of the talk has been published in the conference proceedings; below is a short summary in English.
The Monastery of San Benedetto is located in Via Crociferi in Catania. It is still home to Benedictine nuns and includes the Church of San Benedetto, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto. The monastery offers a cultural visit route that includes the church and several monastic spaces of particular artistic interest. Managing this route is complex, as it must reconcile the needs of a cloistered convent with those of cultural tourism. For this reason, the site requires an information system that is comprehensive, yet completely removable and non-invasive for the religious building.
The move to a fully digital guide for the site was also accelerated by post–Covid-19 regulations, which have significantly limited the use of rental audioguides, especially in small cultural institutions.
The solution developed was a web app that integrates a multimedia guide, booking system, ticketing and e-commerce. It is quick to implement and meets the organisation’s needs to monitor visitor access and manage ticket office and bookshop operations. At the same time, it is an agile tool in terms of content updates and helps reduce maintenance and update costs.
A web app is also a marketing tool: thanks to the analytics built into digital platforms, it becomes possible to identify where different visitor groups spend the most time, giving the organisation the chance to tailor guide content based on criteria such as age or place of origin. This opens the door to differentiating content by language or creating specific itineraries for local residents, generating more attractive and engaging dynamics than those of a traditional guide.
From the visitor’s point of view, using digital technology does not only mean a more engaging experience, thanks to carefully designed content; it also becomes a way of preserving the memory of the visit. The guide remains on the visitor’s own device, and can be accessed even after the trip is over.
Luna Meli