Digital documentation for the accessibility and communication of Franciscan Observance heritage: the case of Eremo delle Carceri in Italy and Santa Maria da Insua in Portugal

The research is carried out in the context of the European project F-ATLAS, whose objectives include documenting the material and intangible heritage of the Franciscan Observance in Europe. This paper focuses on the possibilities offered by digital documentation to create tools for the dissemination and accessibility of the Franciscan Observance heritage. The two case studies have been selected for their particular characteristics, linked to the historical context of the Observance, the landscape-territorial context and their current use. The idea examined for the first case study is to allow individuals with reduced mobility to access virtually all the conventual spaces that are physically not accessible, solving the issue in a non-invasive way, exploiting the potential offered by the use of digitally acquired data to create a virtual tour. In the second case, the problem of the inability to access a site classified as a Portuguese National Monument was addressed. Thus, a temporary modular exhibition pavilion was designed to contain installations that provide information on the history and architectural development of the convent and fortress and can also be used by blind and visually impaired people.