sim ply offer cata logu e s o f th eir collections, with th e physical inform ation cards reproduc ed for
th e virtu a l v i e w e r O ne can browse by floor, spe cial exhibitions, and artistic medium, and there
are limited a udio guid e s availa ble as well. O th ers imbed small vid e o clips in th e ir room-by
room slid e shows. A g ain the inform ation on individu al piec e s is consiste ntly sparse. Individual
piec e s pre s e nte d via slide show, while argu a bly the le ast cre ative , are still useful for lay visitors.
O th er a pps, like th e V a tic a n’s, offer a virtual e xp erie nc e me a nt to comp ete with a
physic al visit. Sixty-s e cond vid e o clips prep vie w ers for m ajor sections of the physical
muse um, who can the n sele ct from more d etailed slide shows allowing close ups. A history of
th e colle ction and the curatoria l arra ng e m e nt of th e mus eum are offere d in addition to spe cific
g a llerie s and colle ctions. An added exp erie nc e is th e a bility to ge t individual audio
e xpla n ations— pulled from the mus e um’s audio tour file s— and the a bility to get clos er to things
like th e Sistin e C h a p el than on e can in person. F or ex ample, the Sistin e C hap el tour includes
pan shots of th e ceiling as well as individual slide s of e ach panel. T extu al information
a ccomp a nie s the audio. O ne a dv a nta g e to a pplic ation tours are the details th e y highlight for
us ers— including slide shows of individu al works th at allow zooming in to a ppre ciate the
d etails. O n a Lippi painting, for ex ample, a serie s of sev en slide s highlights for the vie w er the
detail and skill of the physical painting in a w a y th at a physical vie w er could not hope to
a ppre ciate with out s etting off proximity alarms. From an e duc ation al perspective, this is very
useful; from a fin a ncia l perspective, virtual tours and apps may be the only w a y cultural
h eritag e is a cc e ssible .
The Vatican’s mobile app (welcome video & tours)
Fillipo Lippi’s Madonna and Child (same)
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