Museums and new challenges: from digital curation to wellbeing enhancement. The case study of the archaeological collection of the Sigismondo Castromediano Museum

This study is aimed at evaluating the combination of storytelling and eXtended Reality to enable the enjoyment of a museum collection for a fragile audience, namely people hospitalized in a hospital ward. The application involves the creation of immersive and interactive virtual scenarios, with the possibility of performing several activities, such as exploring a museum setting, according to Museum therapy principles, and practicing stimulating playful-recreational activities, according to Art therapy principles. The goal is to assess the impact of the fruition of the 3D archeological collection, in terms of promoting the psychological well-being of vulnerable people. The experimentation involved the Sigismondo Castromediano Museum in Lecce and took place at the Prof. Petrucciani Clinic (Lecce). During the experimental campaign, the team used a Virtual Reality headset, and two wearable devices for collecting and recording biosignals. This paper provides a description of the methodology adopted with a focus on the storytelling strategy.