Smart City and Open-Air Museum: A Digital Application for the Promotion of the Old Town of Chania

Abstract

The framework of an Open-Air Museum, which includes institutionalized historical routes exploiting the functional features of a “smart city”, could become a holistic approach to the management of a historical urban space. Furthermore, by producing Public History, an Open-Air Museum can reduce social isolation and more effectively strengthen a sense of identity, the collective identity, social cohesion, and therefore the sustainable development of a community. This paper presents a digital multimedia application, which serves as an enhanced digital guide that includes the institutionalized historical routes of the old town of Chania, transforming the specific urban area to a ‘smart’ tourist destination. The old town of Chania was chosen mainly due to its long uninterrupted human presence since the prehistoric era, whose remaining traces are retained in very good condition in today’s times, especially the periods dating back to the Minoans, the Byzantines, the Venetians, the Ottomans and the Cretan State. In the era of digital technologies, 3D printing, simulation and virtual reality, the implementation of digital innovations can reach audiences not yet being reached by other means, increasing the attractiveness of historical sites and visitors’ participation. Consequently, it can have a more powerful impact on the sustainable development of the local community.