Works

Saturday will be a day of new beginnings for the Ugo Da Como Foundation, which, thanks to the collaboration with the Friends of the Ugo Da Como Foundation and the Municipality of Lonato del Garda, will reopen its activities to the public after the closure period caused by the Covid-19 epidemic.

Starting from Saturday, it will be possible for the public to visit the fortress and discover its most beautiful corners thanks to an entirely outdoor path that runs along the crenellated sticks to get to the beautiful surrounding park. The Rocca of Lonato is one of the largest in Lombardy and its strategic position, placed in control of the entire basin of Lake Garda, allows you to admire a breathtaking view, especially in this season in which nature is lush and verdant.

In order to ensure the greatest possible safety for its public, in this first phase, the Ugo Da Como Foundation has decided to open to the public not only the open spaces beyond the drawbridge of the historic fortress, but also the “secret gardens” of the ancient Casa del Podestà: in whose rooms are located the house museum of the Senator from Brescia and what one of the most important private libraries in Northern Italy. In addition, it will also be possible to walk in the Park surrounding the Rocca: a very lush green space already owned by Ugo Da Como and granted to the entire citizen in use thanks to an agreement with the Administration of Lonato del Garda.

Furthermore, the Foundation has decided to make a special route available only by reservation: with a guide you will be able to travel the entire perimeter of the Venetian walls, overcome the stretch of the ancient walls and access, by means of a door normally lock, at the “secret gardens” of Ugo Da Como. This itinerary has never been proposed and allows a walk of one kilometer in the green, between the park of the fortress, the wooded area and the terraces that make up the gardens of the Casa del Podestà.

It will be also possible to listen to the stories, history and anecdotes about the building and its restoration by the architect Antonio Tagliaferri on behalf of Ugo Da Como, between 1907 and 1909.

The decision to open to the public only the outdoor spaces aims to offer maximum safety for visitors on the one hand and, on the other, to offer additional value to its public, effectively creating an unprecedented and highly engaging en plein air itinerary .

This is an extremely positive sign that the Foundation, which never stopped its activities during the closure, wants to give to its public: in addition to the ideation of this wonderful journey between history and nature, in fact, the Foundation is working on many fronts: the relaunch of the Club della Rocca, which allowed the restoration and maintenance of the Senator’s heritage, the construction sites opened thanks to the calls won in the previous year, which will bring numerous innovations in terms of use: the new ornithological museum, the hall immersive and augmented reality paths. After the isolation of these months and the objective difficulties that we have faced, the Foundation intends to activate new projects and construction sites, also thanks to the support of Capital Culture, with the aim of making the assets increasingly accessible and usable managed and add value to the visit.

These months have undoubtedly been difficult for all sectors and for many companies but, as Capitale Cultura, in addition to supporting our customers in their usual activities, we have thought a lot about the possible prospects for the world of Culture which, necessarily, will have to change (or expand) its habits following this situation.

For this reason, we have used this period of time to analyze the habits of the cultural world in Italy and abroad and to better study the market; these researches have led us to establish a new collaboration with Wikipoint allowing us to evaluate new possibilities and to select and improve the product for the world of culture. Wikipoint is a simple, easy and immediate platform to open museums to the public and to allow a new way to visit online through the creation of Virtual Tour.
From this period of standstill, therefore, Wikipoint was born, an aggregator of digital content, designed around the concept of simplicity, ease of use and immediacy precisely to allow anyone to create and enjoy a narration based on storytelling.

Wikipoint is configured as the most suitable tool to allow museums, institutions, foundations, archives, gardens, museum houses and many other realities to bring their heritage online quickly and easily through the creation of cultural schedules, created through the aggregation of different types of digital content, which can be declined in digital exhibitions, virtual tours and educational experiences.

Thanks to the methods chosen for the narration, it will be possible for the Museum to create different narrative strands, within which to digitally convert the exhibition and thematic paths that can be exhibited with the curators’ voice to the digital audience.

This reality guarantees a new type of experience for the user, characterized by interactivity and immediacy of use: with this digital platform, in fact, the user is encouraged to maintain the connection with the institution thanks to the perfect integration that the platform allows and thanks to the possibility of using it also as a real communication channel that can be perfectly integrated within the website.

The platform is also characterized by its accessibility from any device, for the support of audio files, text to speech (speech synthesis that converts text into spoken voice), automatic translation in 103 languages, for the possibility of implementing various functions of edutainment and digital educational laboratory, thus becoming a useful tool not only for schools but also for groups and for younger and curious visitors.

Because of its structure, therefore, Wikipoint presents itself as a storytelling that is simple to construct and modify based on the succession of the needs of the institutions. This solution, designed for all companies committed to enhancing the rich cultural heritage of the area, evolves every day and aims to develop new flexible experiences for the different needs that the daily newspaper requires us to face, presenting itself, in fact, as a new possibility of make use of places and elements that, even under normal conditions, would not be open to visitors or fully appreciated.

The idea of ​​Terra&Cuore ice cream was born from the union between nature, represented by the Fattorie Cuore D’Elba, an organic farm located in an uncontaminated nature, and scientific research, represented by the collaboration with the University of Food Sciences of Parma, which made it possible to develop a unique ice cream formula in the world.

Fattorie are a reality immersed in nature, born to find contact with the land and put into practice both ancient and innovative farming practices: the goal has always been to be able to offer the user a product healthy, tasty, genuine and natural. From this experimentation, therefore, an agricultural ice cream parlor was born where we began, step by step, to experiment with the recipe for a different ice cream, rich in taste, respectful of nature and raw materials and healthy.

Terra&Cuore’s ice cream is therefore a “good by nature” ice cream as its claim states, not only because it comes from a profound ability, but also because it is made only with excellent quality raw materials: organic goat milk, herbs from which they are extracted essential oils and fresh seasonal fruit 100% natural; instead, cream, butter, oils, preservatives, thickeners and synthetic flavors are abolished.

In addition, its innovative formula makes it, in all respects, the healthiest and lightest ice cream in the world, with over 80% less fat than others ice cream on the market: a revolution in the concept of ice cream that transforms the product into something capable of giving pleasure and well-being, but contributing to the health and natural rebalancing of consumers.

Currently, the production of ice cream takes place in the Verona laboratory, from where, also thanks to the support of Capitale Cultura which supports the company in developing audiences and managing the press office, the small company is managed, which, precisely in this period of great difficulty, he decided to launch his shop, activating the takeaway and home delivery services for the area of ​​the Municipality of Verona.

A first step which will be followed shortly by many innovations: starting from June the first collaborations with the world of Horeca will come to life for the creation of new formats, collections of gourmet ice creams and high quality sorbets by the glass, through the involvement of important companies in the sector and established chefs. The first collaboration will involve Giulia Cerboneschi, nominated by the Gambero Rosso Guide “Best emerging pastry chef 2016″ and “News of the year 2019″ with her Creazioni Caffè in Manerba del Garda. Furthermore, the precious collaboration with Dr. Nicola Bottari, a Veronese dietician, who will take care of the online section dedicated to the nutritional benefits of this ice cream, seals the Gelato formula which is good by nature, especially in terms of well-being and digestibility.

Terra & Cuore is therefore configured as a startup in full evolution, with the aim of opening other stores in the area and continuing to implement research and tradition to offer the public a product without compromise.

One week after the opening of the Museum of Cultures in Lugano and other museums in Switzerland, today, during the World Museum Day, according to the rules established by the new ministerial decree, museums will be able to reopen to the public in Italy.

This decree aims to restore the flow of people within public places in general, and, in particular, to make our cultural and artistic heritage accessible again; however, we should certainly not underestimate the economic aspect that has seriously affected this sector.

For this reason, the Government has examined a complex economic maneuver which provides for the allocation of extraordinary measures to support culture and businesses: the Holiday Bonus, which consists in a contribution of up to € 500 for hotel accommodation costs, the fund for tourism promotion, a real “tourism fund” which was designed with an initial endowment of 150 million euros to be used for acquisitions, renovations and enhancement of propertiesfor tourism.

In addition to this, the suspension of the first installment of the IMU for bathing establishments and hotel structures, the IRAP exemption for businesses and self-employed workers with revenues of less than € 250 million, greater protection for seasonal workers, an ad hoc fund for tour operators and travel agencies and non-refundable contributions for companies and operators damaged by Covid.

A series of complex operations that, with funds and aid, will allow museums – public and private ones – to access extra resources for the reopening which will have to be done in total safety for visitors and operators; for this reason, ConfCultura has drawn up a brief guide of the measures to be adopted in places of culture, which provide for sanitizing gel users and operators, respect for the distance of two meters, the use of masks, the disinfection of the rooms and so on.
In addition, the current situation imposes strict rules about the use of common objects, such as, for example, audio guides and the paper guides, which must be subjected to strict sanitation procedures in order to be used in total safety.

Not unlike what happened across the Alps a week later, therefore, we will return to enjoy the artistic heritage, but the way in which museums are used and access to the exhibition halls will change significantly.

This morning at 11 am the Lugano Museum of Cultures reopens its doors to its public who will be able to enjoy the beauty of the spaces and collections safely, thanks to the measures implemented by the Culture and Museums Foundation in collaboration with the Capitale Cultura International, to protect social distancing and, consequently, the visitor’s greeting.

In fact, thanks to the special signs, the plexiglas panels, the paths traced on the floor that guarantee the respect of the distance of two meters between the visitors, the Musec was able to welcome the public a month earlier than initially planned and in total security. The interventions, coordinated with the head of museum services of Capitale Cultura International, Thomas Cieslik, make it possible to send a positive and decisive signal to the world of Swiss culture and beyond, thanks also to the precise directives of the government.

Inside the Spazio Cielo del Musec it will be possible to visit a new temporary exhibition, consisting of a selection of traditional fabrics and rugs from Morocco and the collection of Annette Korolnik, a well-known collector of textiles and dishes from Morocco. Furthermore, the collector was largely involved in the realization of the project together with Paolo Maiullari, the curator of the Museum, and, with him, signed the beautiful catalog. This new exhibition dialogues and completes the exhibition that is located on the ground floor of the Museum, inside the Maraini Space, where you can admire the impressionist portraits of Morocco, a visit itinerary conceived and created by Roberto Polillo.

Finally, with this reopening, it will be possible for the public to also visit the masterpieces of the art of the Dayaks of Borneo, exhibited inside Villa Malpensata. The same spaces will welcome, during the summer, over one hundred works in a new large exhibition dedicated to Japanese painting from the 16th to the 19th century.

A signal of restart that, as mentioned, gives hope to the world of culture and which, we hope, will soon be followed by many other cases, such as the Swiss Customs Museum, which is preparing to open for the 2020 season with important exhibition news.

With the project “Ugo Da Como 150. The anniversary that writes the future: augmented reality and immersive room for new experiences at the museum” the Ugo Da Como Foundation received, last week, the biggest contribution provided by the guidelines of the Cariplo Foundation, within the call “places of cultural innovation–2019”.. A similar result was obtained only by two other prestigious institutions: Municipality of Novara and National Institute of Astrophysics.

In Italy, the theme of cultural innovation is becoming increasingly important. For this reason the Cariplo Foundation, which has always supported actions for culture and its places, has chosen to create a call aimed at rewarding realities with an interdisciplinary profile, open to the challenges of entrepreneurship and digital, as well as to the construction of networks and collaborations.

The Ugo Da Como Foundation has decided to present, with the support of Capitale Cultura Group and ARtGlass, a complex project of cultural innovation, aimed at broadening and accelerating the potential of the Foundation, with a high standard of quality and technology, in order to attract a new audience and to focus attention on all aspects of the life of the Lonato del Garda and, specifically, the Rocca complex and the Casa del Podestà. An overall project that, in recent months, had already been awarded by the Region and the GAL Garda and Colli Mantovani, who had awarded the Foundation additional funds, to be used on two calls dedicated to cultural heritage and territorial development. This has led to a total budget of 380 thousand euros, for the project.

The Ugo da Como 150 project focuses on the implementation of new technologies in the Captain’s House in the centre of the Visconti fortress, which will become a multifunctional space with an immersive room. The aim is to rethink the traditional visit to the castle, the ornithological museum, the Podestà House and the Library, thanks to the use of augmented reality, with the solution patented by Art-Glass, the leading international company in the sector and part of Capital Culture Group.

Thanks to these innovations, therefore, the public will be able to appreciate not only the history of the Rocca and Senator Ugo Da Como, but also the whole territory that surrounds it, giving further visibility to a rich and wonderful landscape in rich in culture, nature and enogastronomy.

The use of wearable audio guides provided by Art-Glass, not only will make the Rocca and its heritage more accessible, but will allow the visitor to fully immerse himself in the scenery of the Rocca and its everyday life, to browse books of inestimable value and to dialogue with the characters of the era.

The multimedia room, will see Isabella d’Este as protagonist in her narration of the history of the Rocca and the surrounding territory.

A project from the enormous technological potential that has been recognized and enhanced with the maximum contribution of the Cariplo Foundation that granted the Foundation 200 thousand euros for the realization of these interventions.

As we said, it will be a season of profound changes for the Rocca and for the Ugo Da Como Foundation, which wants to enhance its splendid assets making them increasingly accessible to the public, thanks to Club della Rocca:a partnership project developed with the support of Capitale Cultura Group, which has led alongside the Foundation leading companies such as Ubi Banca, Feralpi, Beretta, Vips Motel, Green Up, Ferrarini, Vivaio dei Molini, Pezzaioli and a top technical partner like Epson.

From 10 December Leonardo Da Vinci Galleries will open their doors to the public.

The National Museum of Science and Technology (once Technics) “Leonardo da Vinci” boasts today the largest permanent exhibition in the world dedicated to the universal genius: more than 1,300 square meters and 170 historical models, works of art, antique volumes and installations that bring the exhibition’s narrative to life.

The New Galleries reinterpret completely the historic layout with which the Museum opened to the public in 1953 and represent a unique cultural resource meant to inspire new generations, the world of research and enthusiasts of all ages.

Capitale Cultura, as a partner, works alongside The National Museum of Science and Technology (once Technics) “Leonardo da Vinci” .

For more information: http://www.museoscienza.org/it/leonardo/gallerie

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