Improving sustainable enhancement of cultural heritage: smart placemaking for experiential paths in Pompeii

The senses are part of our everyday life and the sensory experience we had of a place makes us remember it more or less distinctly and with more or less pleasure. Urban studies agree on the fact that today the main goal of urban space planning is to alter the experience of that space for those who inhabit it. Urban environments are increasingly often designed to be distinctive; they strive to create memorable sensory experiences for the people who use them. The experience of a place can be further improved and virtualized by using smart technologies to be applied to a given area in all its complexity, making the most of both its tangible and intangible resources. The present study was undertaken to contextualize the issue of place experiential paths. It was carried out in the framework of the research project, ‘Historic urban landscape as a resource for local development: an innovative approach for smart strategies for the creation of value’, formulated according to PRIN – Project of Relevant Italian National Interest – guidelines. Starting from the evolving definition of ‘experiential path’, this study seeks to illustrate the projects currently being developed for Pompeii and the PRIN proposal for a smart experiential path in the Pompeii area. This area is characterized by archaeological resources of great interest, but scarce attractiveness of the modern town next to the ruins. The identification of well-known and less well-known cultural and identity resources of these places is the basis for the construction of experiential paths capable, thanks to smart technologies, to contribute to its sustainable enhancement.