In the Apulian furrows. A picturesque adventure through the engravings of the Grand Tour

The research explores the phenomenon of digital technology under the form of video game experiences aimed at communicating territorial enhancement. The chosen direction is the design of a serious game with the objective of promoting and valuing the Apulian territory through virtual reconstructions of 18th-century engravings related to the Grand Tour. The ultimate goal of the study is to find an optimal point of hybridization between the cultural and gaming realms, starting from the analysis of the phenomenon of games and video games. It continues by attempting to extract a corpus of serious games that interact at various levels with cultural enhancement, and further outlines the conGrand Tours of the Grand Tour phenomenon and its spread within the Apulian territory to extract a set of relevant engravings.

The methodological intent of the research is to outline a scientific and replicable method for the investigation and three-dimensional reconstruction of engraved images, aiming also to restore the materiality of the engraving technique in defining the assets of a serious game. This game is conceived as a side-scrolling adventure set within the virtual reconstructions of the studied engravings.