Experiences of Public History and ICT for the Representation of Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Public History is a field of the historical sciences where historians carry out activities related to the research and communication of history with and for different audiences. This article aims to analyze the role of Public History in a post-earthquake context and to illustrate the experiences conducted in L’Aquila after 2009, in a synergy between academic institutions, schools, associations and cultural networks. In L’Aquila, historians intervened with their research within the INovating CIty Planning project through Information and Communication Technologies. Through ICT (digital technologies), Public History activities aim to enhance the historical and Cultural Heritage of the city and to restore memory and disappeared traces of places and re-emerged architecture. Information and Communication Technologies may allow a wide and differentiated public to approach the knowledge of their cultural heritage. It is precisely through ICT in L’Aquila that new experiences allow the fruition and communication of no longer visible facies and no longer visitable places, with the aim to propose new areas of research as well as educational and tourist itineraries.