THE PROBLEM

Circus Maximus is one of the most iconic landmarks in Rome and the largest entertainment venue of the Ancient World hosting up to 250.000 spectators. In 2017 the Roman Superintendecy for Cultural Heritage launched a tender for the valorization of the Circus Maximus archaeological area by means of Virtual and Augmented Reality Technologies. 

THE CHALLENGE

Creating outdoor immersive experiences is very complex due to the variety of factors that impact on the technology. The solution had to be robust independently of the changing environmental conditions (climate, lighting, meteorology, users). The project had both an educational and cultural dimension. Interdisciplinarity was another challenge of the project.

THE SOLUTION

While working with Inglobe Technologies, we delivered a solution based on ARmedia SDK to allow visitors to learn the history and cultural relevance of the site by means of an immersive AVR experience for mobiles. The narrative path was based on 8 chapters that could be accessed at given points of interests in the area.

THE RISKS

Circo Maximo Experience is the first large-scale permanent outdoor immersive experience ever created worldwide. Issues related to safety and robustness have been addressed also in the Design phase.

RESULTS AND BENEFITS

Circo Maximo Experience attracted more than 100.000 visitors from its launch in May 2019. The project was fully repaid within 6 months from launch and won the «Best Innovative Venue» from the Tiqets platform in 2020, being the only immersive experience that could be safely made during the pandemics in 2020.