The history of Milan Cathedral relives in virtual reality

Almost seven centuries to relive with virtual reality: outside and inside the Duomo of Milan an immersive experience that gives body and voice to one of the world's most culturally rich places. The "Duomo Smart Experience" tour is the result of the collaboration between the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano - historical institution that has been the custodian of the Cathedral's priceless artistic and cultural heritage since 1387 - and Way Experience.

Outside the Duomo, the tour begins with two immersive stops led by a cultural guide, illustrating the stages of the Cathedral's construction, offering the public a privileged perspective on its historical and architectural origins. Then inside the Duomo Museum: the tour continues with three more immersive stages, also guided, that deepen the narration of the Duomo's history and secrets. Thanks to the use of virtual reality, visitors will be transported between the spectacular spires of the Cathedral and in front of the façade, in a privileged position. Inside the Museum, it will also be possible to admire a life-size replica of the famous Madonnina. Finally, at the end of the guided tour, participants will have access to the interior of the Duomo (included in the ticket price).

A tour not only dedicated to the Duomo, but encompassing the history of Milan; among the various stops on the itinerary is the reconstruction of the Laghetto di Santo Stefano, the harbour near the Cathedral, buried in 1857, where, after a journey along the waterways and the Navigli network, barges loaded with marble from the Candoglia Quarry and destined for the Duomo would land.

The immersive content is realised in monoscopic VR 360 format with 3DoF (three degrees of freedom), at 5K resolution. A multidisciplinary team of 12 immersive production professionals worked on 'Duomo Smart Experience'. These were joined by a creative team of six people engaged exclusively in pre-production and design of the narrative and visual content.

For this project, eight historical buildings were reconstructed three-dimensionally, an urban area of 17 square kilometres was modelled, and no less than 114 human characters populated the various scenes.