Museums and digital: social is not enough. The experience of the Vercelli Cathedral Museum.

The digital challenge for Italian museums represents a real confrontation that we can no longer shy away from. Lemergenza sanitaria Covid-19 has confronted us with a problem that is well known but never fully examined. As many experts in the field have pointed out in recent months, it is not enough to be present on social media to declare one’s aptitude for new forms of communication. In fact, mere presence leads to clear miscalculations that then result in DIY videos or other unattractive forms of communication. Digital readiness must first be understood and only then developed, taking into account one’s own skills, often transversal, and one’s financial and instrumental resources.

The Cathedral Treasure Museum and Chapter Archives Foundation of Vercelli has been on a path of transformation for a few years now, which has flowed into the 2019-2022 strategic plan, whereby lente has begun to relate to the digital sphere with dedicated projects in the different areas of competence. Upstream there has been a reflection on the communication forms used and a self-assessment of its capabilities. Constant monitoring of audiences, through satisfaction questionnaires and insight analysis of its communication channels, was the starting point for specific reflections and investments in terms of staff training and consulting.

From these considerations, for example, came a gamification project with augmented reality entitled Hwaet! The Vercelli Book Saga, in collaboration with the Institute of Educational Technologies of the CNR in Palermo and the company Bepart of Milan. The need to use new languages, attract and reach new audiences was at the basis of the video game that was initially supposed to be enjoyed exclusively in museum spaces, but following the lockdown, it was rethought and expanded with an online version that can be downloaded from app stores, available from next fall. It should be emphasized that the project could not have come into being without the investment of two bank foundations operating in the area, such as Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondazione CRT.

A room in the Museum of the Treasure of the Cathedral of Vercelli

The financial support of banking foundations, such as Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Vercelli and Compagnia di San Paolo, is also at the basis of a broader metamorphosis that Lens has been undergoing in recent years internally and in close synergy with other museums in the area, belonging to the MUVV - Musei di Vercelli e Varallo museum system. An ambitious network project that involves not only the museums, but also a series of consultants and trainers with whom a training course has been undertaken aimed at improving and consolidating digital tools in the different areas of competence of the museum realities: enhancement, didactics, research, diagnostics and digitization.

Managing to be digital, to create valuable products, is a challenge that Italian museums must undertake. To do so requires a clear awareness of their own resources and limitations, which can be overcome through dialogue and collaboration with other productive sectors. This is the only way to truly stay connected with the public, effectively.

This contribution was originally published in No. 7 of our print magazine Windows on Art on paper. Click here to subscribe.

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