Promoting the heritage through AR and VR: the Ara Pacis as it was

This paper presents a case study of an Augmented and Virtual Reality application implemented in the Ara Pacis Museum of Rome (Italy). A qualitative research was performed to investigate how the technology can help in reaching the museum's mission and enhancing the visitor experience. The research adopts a holistic approach perspective that covers the human, the technological and the contextual dimensions that affect the visit experience. The results are discussed in order to highlight some relevant insights which can be used to design (or even re-design) augmented and virtual reality applications for the promotion of the cultural heritage.