After a couple of years’ silence Hidden Florence is back on the move. In fact, since the original publication of the app we’ve remained busy, with some research publications (see News for links) as well as the surprising coverage in Travel Man Christmas special in 2016 with Rebel Wilson and Richard Ayoade, viewed by nearly 3 million people! We had a software update in 2016 to keep the app working on newer phones and improve sharing services.
From March 2018 we have really stepped up activity thanks to further funding from the AHRC to create a 2.0 version of Hidden Florence which includes a number of exciting collaborations. We’ve teamed up with the DECIMA research group at the University of Toronto led by Nick Terpstra and are working with a new researcher on this shared project, Daniel Jamison to create series of new walks that will include new characters, destinations and historical moments in the city’s remarkable past. We’ve also linked up with Donal Cooper at the University of Cambridge to explore various art historical implications of location-based technologies, and are exploring how we might take 3D digital models of lost historical buildings back into the field through AR. As part of this new phase of our work we’ve also directly engaged with new project partners from the museum sector, with the National Gallery (London) and Polo Museale Toscano (Florence) to explore how our itineraries might work to reconnect sites and monuments in Florence with artworks now displayed in London. Finally, with the support of the Florence UNESCO office we’re beginning to consider how the alternative itineraries proposed by Hidden Florence might help to redistribute visitors in this beautiful, often crowded and delicate urban environment. Last but not least, we’re continuing to work with our amazing technical partners, Calvium, to develop the new app, due for launch in early 2019.
Over the next few months members of the project team will write short entries to give some insights into the new stories coming up, the exciting new design and AR features we’re testing, as well as insights into the research process in the field. We hope you’ll follow us on the project pages as well as on twitter. #hiddenflorence @giovanni1490s
Fabrizio Nevola
Hidden Florence 