Phd in COMMUNICATION, SOCIAL RESEARCH AND MARKETING

Thesis title: Musei e digitale. Prospettive semiotiche di valorizzazione: due casi di studio

This study addresses the use of digital technologies within the museum context, with the aim of critically analysing their role in the enhancement and communication of cultural heritage. Starting from the observation that, since the 1980s, the introduction of new technologies in museums has often developed according to merely applicative and uncritical logics, the research seeks to investigate how and to what extent the digital domain can serve as an effective tool for cultural mediation—one capable of integrating, rather than replacing, traditional communicative approaches. The investigation adopts an interdisciplinary approach, grounded in a theoretical framework that combines semiotic, communicative, and museological reflections, with the goal of placing technology at the service of a coherent and sustainable communication model. The methodology, based on direct observation and qualitative analysis, unfolds through the comparative study of two emblematic cases: the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice and the Domus Aurea in Rome. Both sites are examined with regard to the digital mediation strategies employed and their effectiveness in fostering public understanding, participation, and learning. Particular attention is devoted to the design of an integrated model of digital enhancement developed for the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, based on a flexible, adaptive, and visitor-centred communicative paradigm. The results highlight how digital technologies, when employed with thoughtful design awareness, can amplify the communicative and interpretative potential of the museum, whereas a merely spectacular use tends to diminish its cognitive depth. Ultimately, the thesis proposes a replicable methodological model for the development of sustainable and culturally meaningful practices of digital mediation.