XR for Dispersed Heritage – Results from our XR Experience in Ancona

Over the weekend of 4–5 July, the National Archaeological Museum of the Marche hosted an XR experience showcasing the ancient glass collection of Zadar, as part of the Dispersed heritage use case of the project. During this, we explored how the latest MR hardware (Meta Quest 3), can be harnessed to virtually reunite cultural heritage. By seamlessly blending digital representations with physical environments, MR provides a powerful tool for bridging these historical and geographical divides. This exploration demonstrated how MR can enhance visitor engagement, and promoted a deeper understanding of cultural heritage. A key distinction between this type of experience and a full immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience is that the visitor remains grounded in the museum as opposed to being transported somewhere else in a metaverse. 

In XRculture we focused on a special collection of ancient glass objects which originated from Zadar, Croatia. Between the end of World War I and World War II, the Croatian city of Zadar was Italian territory and remained under the supervision of the Soprintendenza Marche, Abruzzo and Zara. During this period, some ancient Roman glassware from the Zadar region was sent to the National Archaeological Museum in Ancona, where it is now stored in the museum's reserves. In a uniquely innovative initiative, the museum reserves are since December 2025 open to the public. Thus, visitors can open cabinets and see precious collections that for various reasons could not be displayed in the permanent exhibition of the museum. However, there is little information available about what the visitors see. This glass objects collection from Zadar (23 objects in total) was digitised by UNIVPM, as part of WP2 activities. The 3D representations (in a Gaussian Splat format) have been used in the dispersed heritage scenario.

The experience recounted the story of how this collection of Glasses made it to Ancona from

Zadar, and their significance. 3D models of the digitised glass objects are included in the story, allowing the user to examine them in more detail (e.g. zoom in and rotate which would not be possible to do with the actual physical objects which are in the storage drawer behind glass). The software infrastructure for deploying the story was provided through the WeaveX tool developed and improved in the project by IN2.

For the guided “full XR experience” two concurrent stations were set up: one standing station in front of the cabinet containing the actual glasses from Zara, and one sitting station in the adjacent room.

Results  

For evaluation we used a mix of methods: direct observations during visitor experience, informal feedback/discussion rounds after the experience and structured feedback using an online form (provided to the visitors via QR code).

Overall, we observed that the majority of people were not familiar with XR technologies or glasses. However, after just a few minutes of training, all participants, both young and old, were able to easily use the main functionalities employed by the experience. This indicates that market penetration and familiarity with virtual worlds technology does not constitute a real barrier for successful deployment.

We could observe overall positive feelings and reactions from the participants. It was positive that the participants could discover 3D models of objects as they would look around the room (“a nice surprise”). While one expected positive aspect (as reported through informal oral comments) was indeed the novelty of the type of experience (even if some people had previously tried full VR or mobile AR experiences), a considerable number of people were taking the time they needed to go also through the digital story presented and learn about the collection (and not only interact with the 3D models). The digital narrative format successfully captured visitor interest and indicated that this kind of information delivery is preferred to the more traditional text panels found in a museum. 

The proposed mixed reality approach was very positively evaluated. Participants positively commented on the fact that this kind of XR experience did not remove them from the museum, but in fact enhanced their visit in the museum. Visitors have corroborated the notion that such digital formats can capture visitor interest, provide a better guidance on the exhibited objects, and in this particular case reveal a story that was otherwise hidden (being documented only in expert literature).

Physical limitations that physical museum signage has can be effectively addressed with this format, even with the “low tech” that requires only the mobile phone of the visitor and a QR code scanning.

The approach can drive repeat visits. This was not only confirmed by responses in the feedback form but also by the fact that even on a very hot weekend there was a high number of people that chose to come to the museum, some explicitly to experience the glass of

Zadar in XR.

Over 80% of the visitors that reached the physical location where the XR experience was shown, chose to also try it. Those that did not, cited lack of time and the need for fresh air, as the main reasons why they did not want to try. The 3D models and the high-fidelity digitisation was highly appreciated, while there could be further fine-tuning of the

interaction (although some limitations are hardware specific). Finally, the digital storytelling approach can provide much needed context to museum collections and can enhance the learning as well as the general visit.