Paola’s defense: re-evaluation of a local cultural heritage site, the Baradello Castle

The Baradello Castle is a fortress in the North of Italy - Lombardy region, nearby the city of Como. Though a cultural heritage site rich in architectural value as well as historical significance (one of the early historical evidences dates back to 7th century AD), little communication efforts have been done to promote it or include it in the touristic circuits in the Lombardy region. As Paola's research points, the number of visitors to the castle has significantly dropped in the past decade. A re-evaluation of this cultural heritage site is currently considered as part of a global project of revival of the Regional Park Spina Verde, of which the Baradello Castle is part.
Paola has tried her hand at a communication strategy proposal for the Baradello Castle, and by extension, a strategy that can equally be applied to promoting local cultural heritage sites through both traditional and new media-based communication artefacts.
Her proposal includes a high-level communication strategy, aiming at giving enhanced visibility to the castle at local and regional level, allowing local people to re-discover and re-connect with this cultural heritage symbol, and including it in the touristic circuits of Lombardy and Como city. In specifics, Paola proposed a sum of communication artefacts to be developed for on-site (for the castle premises, and in local areas of high touristic affluence) and online use. The core of her proposal is an interactive storytelling application in two versions, one for educational usage and a second, informative version, for a general public.

Image: snapshot of one page in the storytelling application, from the mock-up produced by Paola