Milan has launched ARchivi – The Milan You Didn’t Know in Augmented Reality, an innovative project that turns the city into an open cultural ecosystem. Developed by ARtGlass with the Municipality of Milan, ARchivi blends archival heritage, storytelling, and immersive technology to make the city’s past accessible in new ways.
The project features two integrated experiences:
Porta Venezia City Tour – A free smartphone WebApp that guides users through the lost landscapes of 19th-century Milan, enriched with Extended Reality content and the narrative podcast “Milan and Stendhal: A Double Portrait” (available in Italian, English, and LIS).
AR Experience at the Natural History Museum – With Epson Moverio smartglasses, visitors can encounter a 3D reconstruction of the Megatherium, whose original skeleton was destroyed in 1943, accompanied by archival materials and insights from paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso.
ARchivi aims to make cultural heritage accessible, participatory, and technologically enhanced, expanding the role of libraries and museums into public urban space.