What are the results of observing the world’s cultural heritage from space? What are the challenges and state-of-the-art methods for monitoring and preserving cultural heritage? This will be discussed in the Baroque Chapel of the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague at the workshop “Space meets Culture: Discovering and Preserving Cultural Heritage from Space”, organised by the Italian Embassy in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Italian Cultural Institute.
Space technologies increasingly contribute to the discovery and protection of cultural heritage, which is constantly exposed to atmospheric events and risks of various kinds. Earth observation data, processed with cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning, provide live information on environmental changes in archaeological sites and guide the necessary actions for their conservation. Bearing this in mind, as the Italian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mauro Marsili, emphasised, “during the event some brilliant results obtained through the observation of cultural heritage from space will be outlined. The Italian Space Agency is at the forefront in this respect, both in the development of the most advanced satellites and detectors, and in the management of the wide-ranging effects of the processing of data resulting from the cultural heritage space observation. As Ambassador Marsili stated, it will be a special opportunity “’to appreciate the potential of space infrastructure, traditionally associated with the future but increasingly incisive in providing innovative and effective solutions to the needs of society on earth”.
After the welcome address by Ambassador Marsili, and with the coordination of the Embassy Space Attaché, Maria Cristina Falvella, speakers will include the President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Teodoro Valente; Engineer Gianfranco Corini, President of NAIS – Nextant Applications and Innovative Solutions – the company that, in cooperation with ASI and the Campania region, is developing the digital analog of the Paestum Archaeological Park; and Valeria Fascione, Councillor for Research, Innovation and Start-up of Campania, the region that hosts a European Digital Innovation Hub and has distinguished itself internationally for its cutting-edge projects in the field of cultural heritage protection from space.
The Director and Mission Manager of the COSMO-SkyMed Satellite System, Alessandro Coletta, and specialist Deodato Tapete, both from ASI, will delve into the technical aspects of satellite monitoring applied to cultural heritage, while the Director of the Space Office of the Transport Ministry, Vaclav Kobera, and the Director General of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Culture Ministry, Vlastislav Ouroda, will be representing Czech institutions and research centres.
The concluding round-table discussion will also be attended by the Space Downstream Market Office of the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA), Chiara Solmini.
