?An innovative, immersive and modern space but with an ancient heart and rich in history that, thanks to valuable stage designs and important multimedia supports, will be able to engage and excite visitors of all ages,?
This was said by the extraordinary commissioner of the municipality, Federico Portoghese, during a technical inspection of the brand new area of the ?Vincenzo Bellini Museum," which completes the redevelopment and re-functionalization of the Piazza San Francesco site dedicated to the Catanese Swan, following the recent reopening of the composer's birthplace in Palazzo Gravina Cruyllas.
Overall, a great museum center, unique of its kind in Sicily and among the few in Italy.
The Commissioner visited the new premises, for the last technical inspection before opening the doors, together with the director of Culture, Paolo Di Caro and the director of Urban Planning, Biagio Bisignani, to define the last interventions aimed at an optimal use of the entire museum and of the outdoor areas.
The museum will be officially inaugurated in March, although it will already be possible for the public to visit the museum structure.
The project was financed with funds from the Pact for Catania, amounting to approximately one million euros, and was carried out on the basis of an agreement entered into in recent years by the City of Catania with the University of Catania (Department of Humanities) and the Institute of Science and Technology of Cognition of the CNR-Catania.
The multidisciplinary synergy of the entities involved saw Maria Rosa De Luca, of the University of Catania, as scientific head and Valentina Noto as coordinator of the museum network of Catania.
The multimedia museum aims to improve the enjoyment and enhancement of Maestro Vincenzo Bellini's Birthplace and the Museum dedicated to him, through technology and creativity: on the one hand with the digitization and web-based enjoyment of the musician's documentary and musical heritage, and on the other with a virtual museum in line with new concepts of museum layout.
The Museum offers an immersive journey for viewers, virtually transporting them to Bellini's places, from Naples to Milan to the foyers of theaters in Paris and London.
Music and words accompany the visitor-spectator, restoring the fullness of the character, the composer, the man of his time.
Compared to the original project, work was done in the execution phase to improve usability, preparing appropriate museum signage, as well as an Italian/English system for accessing the audio/video content.
The sets were created by Civita-Mostre e Musei, the multimedia installations by TechLab Works, and the digital content by Wonderlab
