Interpreting and Visualizing the Past Through Virtual Archaeology: From Site to Museum Experience

This article illustrates the reconstructive hypothesis of the trefoil hall found in the roman Villa of Aiano (Tuscany, Italy) built at the beginning of the fourth century AD and characterised by monumental architecture and decorations. The core of the article focuses in detail on the research questions and issues faced during interpretation describing, step by step, all the sources and the reasonings that have led to the scientific visualization. Furthermore, a breakdown of the use of 3D modelling as a research tool to simulate and debate the proposed hypothesis, its findings, and its implications is discussed. The article ends by presenting a project for the exploitation of the reconstructive work through a museum exhibition in San Gimignano. It includes not only the musealization of archaeological finds but, above all, the presentation of a short movie narrating the evolution of the Roman villa and the trefoil hall and the display of a physical replica of the site created using rapid prototyping techniques.