Sicily has been for centuries a place where different dominions and cultures left their traces in form of magnificent cultural monuments. Kamarina was founded by Syracuse in 599 BC, but destroyed by the mother city in 552 BC. Its remains are today in the municipality of Ragusa. The Geloans, however, founded it anew in 461 BC, under the Olympic charioteer Psaumis of Camarina. It seems to have been in general hostile to Syracuse, but, though an ally of Athens in 427 BC, it gave some slight help to Syracuse in 415–413 BC. It was destroyed by the Carthaginians in 405 BC, restored by Timoleon in 339 BC after its abandonment by Dionysius’ order, but in 258 BC fell into the hands of the Romans.
A series of more than 140 lead plates, discovered around the Temple of Athena, and with information about citizens written on them, has suggested to some that Kamarina used allotment to select jurors and city officials (as Athens and other democratic city-states did). These may, however, have had some other use, for example, as a register of citizens for military purposes.
The ancient city of Caucana, known from archaeological excavations, is located a few hundred metres from Punta Secca, a few kilometers from Marina di Ragusa, which achieved notoriety as the site of the house of Inspector Montalbano as a result of a famous television series.
The fertile territory is rich in water and became the location of tiny settlements early in the Greek period, which together took the name Kaukana. When the Roman consul Aulus Atilius Calatinus destroyed Camarina in 258 BC, the fleeing inhabitants of Camarina found refuge here. The Romans in the Imperial period expanded the port of Kaukana which remained important for several centuries, up until the Byzantine period. There are remains of a three-naved cemetery church with tombs dug in the floor. Kaukana was destroyed by Saracens around 827.
Digitization of cultural heritage from Kamarina and Caucana started in 2021 by Global Digital Heritage (GDH) who recorded the first group of museum artifacts found at these sites and created 3D models using photogrammetry. Research staff from Sarajevo School of Science and Technology in collaboration with DIGI.BA is creating virtual presentation of selected objects from these sites in Virtual and Augmented Reality. We selected remains of a basilica, a house at the coast, a house with a circular yard and the pallazzo with the kitchen. We identified two narrator characters: a priest and a merchant who will tell stories from life in these sites in Greek and Roman period. We will combine in virtual environments also the 3D models of digitized museum exhibits.
The first activity of the project was a field visit in September 2021. We took part in the GDH presentation held in Municipality of Ragusa and showed the potential of digital technologies in cultural heritage presentation. We visited the sites of Kamarina and Caucana and discussed with archaeologists the selection of locations to be virtually reconstructed.
With assistants and students of Game Design and Development Program at SSST we will create a promo animation for the project. It will include the Trinacria character, symbol of Sicily. The students will create 3D model of the character and animate it. The promo will be later used in all digital presentations within the project.
The project progress will depend on the funding opportunities available.
