Learning and experiencing the cultural heritage between materiality and virtuality

In this article we want to present two experiences related to different kind of cultural heritage and its fruition. In these cases, a set of concrete proposals was used, combined with the utilize of new technologies, with the intention of enhancing both possibilities. First of all, we intend to clarify the concept of education in the field of the fruition of cultural heritage (tangible and intangible), as the activation of a different participation and involvement in which the voice of the participants is taken into account and shared. In the first case, we want to retrace the path of knowledge of the landscape heritage in which the University of Milan Bicocca is located. In this case has been the subject of a series of discovering walks dedicated to students and citizens. After many experiences over the years, with the use of many tools (photographic, visual, literary ...) we wanted to research a different way of conceiving this project by experiencing personally the experimentation carried out in Parma by the artist Ettore Favini, who has chosen in his artistic proposal to include a technological mapping. This kind of proposal has made it possible to enhance both the collective contribution and the individual experiences and has opened subsequent reflections and proposals for new actions. The second project is dedicated to a research related to the UNESCO site of Mantua and Sabbioneta. Here, real and virtual materials have been designed and created, with the same aim: the activation of a different form of participation by citizens and tourists. The proposals for these tools were born through a path made with students of a high school and with some privileged witnesses related to the history of the city. The aim was to create a kit to improve the fruition of the two cities and to perceive their unitary spirit. The small actions realized in the two projects allowed to initiate a more in-depth reflection on what, within informal education paths, can also be produced in terms of new technologies, perceiving the potentiality and limits of each proposal, experimenting it with different users.