Starting on 3 July, the Rocca di Vignola will introduce a new way to experience its historic spaces: Beyond Time. The Past has never been so close, a project that combines cultural heritage and technological innovation through immersive mixed reality experiences.
Wearable headsets, digital reconstructions, animated frescoes, and a three-dimensional scale model created using 3D printing will guide visitors on a journey through more than eight centuries of history. The experience offers a unique perspective on the Rocca, its architecture, and the events that have shaped it over the centuries.

Promoted by the Fondazione di Vignola, with the support of Fondazione di Modena, and developed as part of the Rocca dei Contrari museum enhancement project, the new experience complements the existing self-guided, guided, and theatrical tours, further enriching the cultural offering of the Rocca.

Through mixed reality, visitors can move freely through the authentic spaces of the Rocca while architectural reconstructions, historical figures, and narrative content come to life within the real environment. Rooms, frescoes, architectural features, and historical details become the meeting point between physical presence and digital storytelling.
The aim is to make transformations, historical events, and details that are often difficult to grasp during a traditional visit more accessible and easier to understand, offering an engaging and immersive experience.

The project is structured around two complementary experiences, each accommodating a maximum of four participants per session.

The Rocca Comes to Life A wayfarer guides visitors through the major stages in the transformation of the Rocca di Vignola. Digital reconstructions, historical insights, and narrative content bring to life the people, places, and events that have shaped the evolution of the fortress over the centuries.
At the heart of the experience is a three-dimensional scale model produced using 3D printing, which serves as the physical focal point around which the story unfolds.

Paintings Without Borders This experience is dedicated to the remarkable frescoes of the Contrari Chapel. Through mixed reality headsets, the painted figures come to life within the surrounding space, allowing visitors to explore scenes, symbols, and details of the fresco cycle that are often difficult to appreciate during a conventional visit.
The experience takes place on the ground floor in fully accessible spaces, free of architectural barriers. This enables visitors who are unable to access the Chapel itself to discover and engage with the artistic heritage preserved within it.

Beyond Time represents the first chapter of a project designed to grow and evolve over time. Its aim is to create a cultural ecosystem that brings together historical research, technological innovation, and public engagement, offering ever-new ways to connect with the history, art, and architecture of the Rocca di Vignola.
Future developments will focus in particular on the creation of content and tools tailored to schools and organised groups, further expanding opportunities for learning, participation, and discovery.

On Friday 3, Saturday 4, and Sunday 5 July, access to the immersive headset experiences will be free of charge upon prior reservation via the following LINK.

Access to the Rocca will remain subject to the usual visiting arrangements.

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For information and bookings:
www.roccadivignola.it
info@roccadivignola.it
Tel. +39 059 775246