Musei Virtuali: dall'entusiasmo all'incomprensione

Virtual museums have attracted great interest over time, but remain conceptually undefined and controversial. They originally denoted little more than a simple website, while with the advent of Web 2.0 and new technologies they have become a complex entity encompassing a plurality of multimedia forms. This evolution has highlighted the difficulties of cultural workers in understanding digital technologies. The author aims to review the history of the concept and its applications, offering a new definition of a virtual museum that clarifies its usefulness for more effective cultural dissemination. To do so, the limitations of current definitions and the role of emerging technologies, such as virtual reality and gamification, in redefining the museum experience will be analyzed. In addition, practical guidance will be provided on how to structure effective virtual museums, going beyond the mere digitization of physical collections.