Go back in time to witness the early Roman period, ancient horse races and all the excitement that once took place at Circus Maximus with a new virtual multimedia tour, opening May 23.
It's called Circo Maximo Experience. The 40-minute virtual tour begins right behind this tower, giving a historical and archaeological reenactment.
The whole process took nearly a year to complete and involved archaeologists, historians and Rome's cultural activists, who all researched to create the very best product.
MARIA VITTORIA MARINI CLARELLI
Capitoline Superintendent for Cultural Heritage
'Here we have the first time a virtual reality is taking place outside, in the daylight. What interests archeologists the most is the construction of the site, which is scientifically proven with our knowledge today. In the future, we also have the possibility to add to what we have done. It's entertainment, but also scientific.'
MARIA LETIZIA BUONFIGLIO
Curator, Archaeologic aspect
“We researched using ancient sources. The Circus Maximus is luckily very well represented in the tombs, the mosaics and the coins. So everything that we've represented is based on factual sources.”
It was Gsnet Italia who created the virtual part. Massimo Spaggiari is the project's administrator and says the virtual tablet located inside the goggles is able to find one's position inside the arena. Thus facts are presented from each point.
MASSIMO SPAGGIARI
Administrator, Gsnet Italia
“It was hard work. We really poured our hearts into this project working many hours a day. The difficult part was to connect the cultural part with the technological part. However, this has really enabled us to present a unique product of its kind.”
The experience is available in six languages and presents the viewer with a historic Circus Maximus, up until the present one. It connects the idea of sport, religion and game that characterized this arena.
