RESULTS
RESULTS
RS1: Technical reports on innovative interdisciplinary methodological approaches.
RS2: Compilation of bibliographic documentation about the study areas.
RS3: Protocols for data collection and processing for the digitalization of sites and virtual reconstruction of paleoenvironments, including the development of apps utilizing immersive technologies (AR/VR).
RS4: Definition of the Synthetic Territorial Index (ITS), considering site attractiveness, accessibility, and current tourist flows.
RS5: Comprehensive dataset of site findings and 3D models of select fossil specimens.
RS6: Long-term strategies for enhancing the potential of the sites within their territorial context.
RS7: Meta-project for an Integrated Territorial Development Plan.
RS8: Communication Plan, publications in scientific journals, organization of study days and Living Lab events, and dissemination of project results at national and international scientific and public events.
PUBLICATIONS
The challengers of the project INSITE.
Rosa Anna La Rocca, Filomena Ornella Amore
Abstract
“INSITE” – Integrated Shared Knowledge from Geo-Paleontological Heritage to Present Territorial Challenges is a Research Project of National Relevance (PRIN), funded in 2022 by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR). The project was carried out through the collaboration of two main research units: the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering (DICEA) at the University of Naples Federico II, acting as the lead institution under the coordination of R.A. La Rocca, and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) at the University of Sannio (Benevento), coordinated by F.O. Amore.
Working in close synergy, this research group addressed the complex issue of territorial regeneration. The primary objective was to explore innovative strategies and methodologies to enhance a form of cultural heritage that has historically been perceived as the exclusive domain of specialists. Central to this approach is the role of spatial planning, which serves as a guiding framework for achieving integrated governance.
This volume collects the contributions presented at the conference “The Challenges of INSITE,”, at the Polytechnic School and Basic Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II. The event provided a timely platform for scholarly exchange and a preliminary assessment of the project’s goals: specifically, the potential to transform geo-paleontological heritage from a “passive legacy” into an active driver of territorial attractiveness and improved quality of life.
https://doi.org/10.6093/978-88-6887-390-5
Urban Regeneration Using the Sound: The Project Augmented Reality Soundscape (ARS).
Rosa Anna La Rocca, Romano Fistola, Ida Zingariello, F. Fabbri
Abstract
The project “Augmented Reality Soundscape” (ARS) deals with the issue of urban regeneration and it represents a first application to test the use of augmented reality applied to the sounds. It is part of a larger research aimed at defining methods to promote Soft Urban Regeneration Actions. Authors intended the term soft to underline the possibility to intervene on urban assets using methods and procedures that are based on the involvement of locals act without contrasts. This process develops in three main phases: 1) the sustainability (economic, environmental and social) of the intervention; 2) participatory processes by involvement of locals; 3) evaluation of the effects of the intervention. The use of the soundscape in urban renewal is a still unexplored field of the urban research that can be indagated with the aim of defining shared occasion to transform and use urban public spaces giving them the possibility of acting as a magnet of care and attention for residents and tourists. The paper in the first part introduces to this idea of using also sounds to “augment” the perception of a physical space, in the second part it presents first findings of an application of the ARS in Cachan (France) carried out with the engagement of the students at University Paris-Saclay in Cachan.
La Rocca, R.A., Fistola, R., Zingariello, I., Fabbri, F. 2025. Urban Regeneration Using the Sound: The Project Augmented Reality Soundscape (ARS). In: Borgogno-Mondino, E., Zamperlin, P. (eds) Geomatics for Green and Digital Transition. ASITA 2024. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 2463. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91141-5_25
Rosa Anna La Rocca, Romano Fistola, Ida Zingariello
Abstract
This study addresses the issue of using composite indicators as a support decision-making tool in the definition of policies aimed at promoting sustainable development in inner areas. Inner areas chosen as case study refer to two geopaleontological sites that, despite their value as historical evidence, are considered as “external resources” not mainstreamed into their own territorial system. Starting from a systematic scientific literature review mainly aimed at defining the concept of “territorial fruition”, this study proposes to individuate and measuring the propensity of territory in which these resources locate to act as magnets for a global design of territorial revitalization. The use of the term revitalization within this study is no coincidence, it serves to underline the peculiarities of the two territorial settings as inner areas (affected by depopulation; aging population; lack of primary services; difficulty in accessibility, etc.) and thus their need to be studied as parts of a global territorial system to be really revived as a whole. The revitalization process must stem from the consideration of existing and potential interactions between the study areas and the broader territorial context. This includes integrating and connecting cultural assets, eco-environmental features, socio-ethnic singularities, and historical, architectural, and urban values into a joint-cohesive system. According to these premises and with the primary aim of pinpointing those variables that can express the essence of the chosen territorial contexts, this study investigates the aspects adequate to define their sustainable usability mainly referred to: - identify a threshold value for the territorial attractiveness; - define territorial accessibility (physical reachability, services accessibility); - find out types of tourism compatible with the need to both preserve and promote such territorial heritage. Case studies refer to the territorial contexts: a) “Ciampate del diavolo” in which have been identified some human footprints dating back around 350.000 years ago; b) “Le Cavere” that at present lays on the mountains but approximately 110 million years ago it was a tropical lagoon. The study assumes the systemic complex approach to territorial analysis, and it aims at defining a scalable method for the evaluation of other geo-sites while recognizing the singularity of cases. It has been developed within the PRIN 2022 INSITE funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR).
La Rocca, R.A., Fistola, R., Zingariello, I., 2025. A composite index for defining territorial fruition of geopaleontological sites in inner area of Campania (southern Italy). 10th EUGEO Congress 2025, Vienna, Austria, 8–11 Sept 2025
Filomena Ornella Amore, Carmen Argenio, Mauro Di Vito, Romano Fistola, Rosa Anna La Rocca, Adolfo Panarello, Maria Rosaria Senatore, Ida Zingariello
Abstract
The study presented has been developed within the PRIN 2022 INSITE: Integrated Shared Knowledge: From Geo-Paleontological Heritage to Present Territorial Challenges, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research. The project involves two teams of experts from different cultural backgrounds fully integrated in developing activities and pursuing objectives. The two teams consist of territorial experts and palaeontologists, who jointly implement all project activities to reach a development proposal by enhancing cultural assets connected within a territorial network. Conducted with a multidisciplinary approach, the study suggests that geo-heritage can drive sustainable territorial development by defining adequate strategies that can improve the knowledge of territorial resources and their use for sustainable tourism typologies (i.e., slow and cultural tourism). The INSITE project focuses on two pilot sites in the Campania region. The selected case studies are Pietraroja and Le Ciampate del diavolo, chosen because of their peculiarities of being both high-value paleontological resources inside an urban context. These paleontological resources are precious for revitalization if they are mainstreamed into a global design of compatible territorial development. The Fossil Park in Pietraroja “Le Cavere” is notable for the discovery of a small dinosaur fossil, Scypionyx samniticus, commonly called “CIRO”, found in the sediments of a tropical lagoon dating back approximately 110 million years and is renowned for its exceptional fossilization (Dal Sasso and Maganuco, 2011). The site of Ciampate del diavolo is an ichnosite that preserves evidence allowing for behavioural and structural evaluations of Middle Pleistocene hominins. The human footprints found here are likely attributable to Homo heidelbergensis or archaic Homo neanderthalensis and are among the oldest and rarest in the world (Mietto et al., 2022). Both sites rely precariously on a few enthusiasts striving to restore them for public use. In this sense, the INSITE project aims at setting adequate solutions to consider both the need to preserve and improve the fruition of these sites. On one hand, some virtual solutions are proposed, on the other hand, some collaborations among researchers and local communities are being implemented.
Amore, F.O., Argenio, C., Di Vito, M.A., Fistola, R., La Rocca, R.A., Panarello, A., Senatore, M.R., Zingariello, I., 2025. Promoting sustainable territorial development in inner areas through paleontological heritage: the case study of Campania region in southern Italy. 10th EUGEO Congress 2025, Vienna, Austria, 8–11 Sept 2025
Cultural heritage and territorial development: The “Paleocycling Route”. Living and Walking in Cities SMART MOBILITY AND SHARED URBAN SPACES
Romano Fistola, Rosa Anna La Rocca, Filomena Ornella Amore , Ida Zingariello, Carmen Argenio
Abstract
This paper, within the PRIN-INSITE project, explores the potentialities of geo-paleontological resources as “territorial magnets” able to drive the inner areas’ redevelopment through sustainable slow tourism. It argues for a holistic approach to connect often overlooked, yet unique, territorial assets. In this regard, this part of the research proposes the project of a cycling route whose objective is to connect some of the geo-paleontological deposits in the Campania region. The layout of the cycling route includes different municipalities located in the Caserta and Benevento provinces. Starting from the site known as “Le Ciampate del Diavolo” (Devil’s Footprints) in Tora and Piccilli (CE), it reaches up to Pietraroja (BN) where the Scipionyx samniticus fossil was found. To enhance the relevance of these two paleontological sites, the path has been called “Paleocycling Route”, and it will wind through existing road networks as well as new tracks that cross the Matese Park area. Technically, the Paleocycling Route (PCR) is expected to cover approximately 80 km and can be travelled using E-MTBs in about four hours. In this context, we will discuss about the possibilities that this project could offer considering three different but interconnected levels: a) at the administrative level it boosts for a collaborative vision among municipalities involved; b) at territorial level it represents an occasion to invest for social and economical growth in inner areas affected by depopulation and the population aging through sustainable forms of tourism; c) as research line based on the interaction between territory, mobility and environment.
Fistola, R., La Rocca, R.A., Amore, F.O., Zingariello, I., Argenio, C., 2025. Cultural heritage and territorial development: The “Paleocycling Route”. Living and Walking in Cities SMART MOBILITY AND SHARED URBAN SPACES, XXVII International Conference LWC 2025, 11-12 September 2025, Brescia (in press).
Filomena Ornella Amore; Carmen Argenio, Romano Fistola; Mattia Yuri Messina; Andrea Rastelli; Ida Zingariello; Rosa Anna La Rocca
Abstract
This study was carried out with a multidisciplinary approach to define a method for improving territorial revitalization through enhancing the paleontological heritage, highlighting potentialities in promoting territorial valorization, particularly for inner areas. The methodology is applied to the Pietraroja site in the Campania region, which was selected because of its large scientific significance for palaeontology and geology. The Pietraroja site (Benevento) is universally known as the place in which the fossil of a small dinosaur, Scypionix samniticus, was found. This study mainly aims to broaden the fruition of the Pietraroja site by designing and creating immersive digital environments allowing for remote access from all over the world via the Internet. In this regard, innovative technologies such as virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality have been utilized to set up digital spaces for visitors who can explore the features of the cultural site and appreciate its high cultural value. The adoption of these new technologies represents the way to propose to the public the cultural contents of the Pietraroja site and to tell the story of the formation of the place.
Amore, F.O., Argenio, C., Fistola, R., Messina, M.Y., Rastrelli, A., Zingariello, I., La Rocca, R.A., 2025. The paleontological heritage as a mean for territorial revitalization: innovative communication modalities for Pietraroja site (southern Italy). Geoheritage (17,31), https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-025-01081-w
Ornella Amore, Filomena ; Argenio, Carmen ; Di Vito, Mauro Antonio ; Fistola, Romano ; Messina, Mattia Yuri ; Panarello, Adolfo ; Rastelli, Andrea ; Zingariello, Ida ; La Rocca, Rosa Anna
Abstract
This study is part of a larger research project (INSITE) - PRIN 2022 founded by MUR - Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca. It is focused on two pilot sites to highlight the intrinsic potentialities of the paleontological heritage as a tool for valorising territorial resources, particularly referring to inner areas. These sites, Pietraroja (PTJ) and Le Ciampate del Diavolo (LCD), are areas of great paleontological importance, in the Campania region. The PTJ (Benevento) is the place where the fossil of a small dinosaur, Scypionix samniticus named CIRO, was found. The LCD ichnosite (Caserta) preserves elements that allow behavioural and structural evaluations of hominins of the middle Pleistocene. The main intention of the study refers to the attempt to broaden the spectrum of interest around these sites, suggesting mainstreaming the potentialities of the whole territorial context in which these sites are located. To identify innovative communication modalities and to develop a new knowledge model, we present here the reconstruction of Pietraroja paleoenvironment using technological tools. Using immersive technologies for virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality models, it is possible to build an immersive digital space in which the visitor will perceive the original environment and interact with the fossils' virtual avatar. The CIRO digital model was obtained based on complete information on the anatomical structure of Scipionyx samniticus and, through accurate 3D modeling, the digital model of the dinosaur was generated. The same approach was used to recreate the landscape and the marine and vegetation species.
Amore, F.O., Argenio, C., Di Vito, M.A., Fistola, R., Messina, M.Y., Panarello, A., Rastelli, A., Zingariello, I., La Rocca, R.A., 2024. Improving the territorial awareness through paleontological heritage: preliminary results from Pietraroja site (southern Italy). EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-12875, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-12875, 2024.
The paleontological heritage and innovative communication modalities for the territorial development
Ornella Amore, Filomena ; Argenio, Carmen ; Di Vito, Mauro Antonio ; Fistola, Romano ; Messina, Mattia Yuri ; Panarello, Adolfo ; Rastelli, Andrea ; Zingariello, Ida ; La Rocca, Rosa Anna
Abstract
We present the preliminary results from the research project (INSITE) - PRIN 2022 founded by MUR – Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca. This study focuses on the consideration that geoheritage can act as a driver factor for territorial sustainable development also for cultural and slow tourism, particularly in inner areas. Two sites in Campania region have been considered as case studies because of their paleontology, paleoanthropology, geology, and geophysics significance The site of Pietraroja (PTJ), located in Benevento’s province, is the place where a baby dinosaur, Scypionix samniticus, was found, drowned in a tropical lagoon about 110 Ma ago, known in the world for its perfect fossilization (Dal Sasso & Maganuco, 2011). The site known as “Le Ciampate del Diavolo” (LCD)” is in Caserta’s province and preserves animal and human footprints, very likely referable to Homo heidelbergensis or archaic Homo neanderthalensis, which are among the oldest and rarest in the world (Mietto et al., 2022). Considering these two paleontological sites as part of the whole system of the cultural heritage supply in Campania, the project INSITE considers two primary levels for their promotion. On one hand, it tries to define a global design to help residents and social parts of the territorial context in which the sites are located realize the uniqueness in which they live.
On the other hand, based on the potentialities of the innovative technologies, the project proposes to develop new models of knowledge by using immersive technologies for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality models and communication modalities supported by widely used devices. Referring to the knowledge model, the use of GIS-based informative technologies allows for the systematization of information in the shared database and the construction of a knowledge model applied to cultural contexts and paleontological sites as a cultural part of the heritage. Referring to the elaboration of digital models, the two pilot sites could be elaborated in mixed reality environments (AR/VR) and, thus, propose additional methods of use than the on-site fruition.
Amore, F.O., Argenio, C., Di Vito, M.A., Fistola, R., La Rocca, R.A., Messina, M.Y., Panarello, A., Rastelli, A., Zingariello, I., 2024. The paleontological heritage and innovative communication modalities for the territorial development. Congresso congiunto della Società Geologica Italiana (SGI) e della Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia (SIMP) 2024, Bari. Abstract Book. 1014 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3301/ABSGI.2024.02
The paleontological heritage as a catalyst for regional development.
Ornella Amore, Filomena ; Argenio, Carmen ; Fistola, Romano ; Natale, Martina ; Luciano, Jaqueline ;Zingariello, Ida ; La Rocca, Rosa Anna
Abstract
This study presents some findings from the INSITE research project, which uses a multidisciplinary approach to promote the sustainable use of paleontological sites, focusing on two pilot sites: Pietraroja (PTJ) and Le Ciampate del Diavolo (LCD). PTJ (BN) is renowned for the fossil of Scipionyx samniticus (Dal Sasso & Maganuco, 2011). LCD (CE) features ancient footprints associated with Homo heidelbergensis (Mietto et al., 2022). The research INSITE aims to define a territorial redevelopment project starting from the presence of paleontological sites, also using co-design techniques. In this part of the research work, techniques for involving local communities were developed to test the awareness of being in territories that are somehow unique. Through the Living Lab, it was possible to start a first involvement of the local community. The questionnaire technique was used to collect information and elaborate first considerations on the progress of the project. These questionnaires were aimed both at collecting information on the level of awareness and at allowing respondents to put forward proposals for the valorization and promotion of the sites. In this context, the elaborations carried out so far are presented. Further developments of the research concern the use of immersive technologies to create virtual, augmented and mixed reality models of both sites, providing innovative methods of involvement (Fistola et al., 2020; Amore et al., 2025).
Amore, F.O., Argenio, C., Fistola, R., Natale, M., Luciano, J., Zingariello, I., La Rocca, R.A., 2025. The paleontological heritage as a catalyst for regional development. Di Martino E, Rosso A. & Sanfilippo R. (Editors) 2025. Paleodays 2025. Abstract Book del XXV Convegno della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 4-6 giugno 2025, Catania (Italy).
A 3D reconstruction of Scipionyx samniticus, known as the CIRO model, was produced to explore the palaeoenvironments of Pietraroja during the Cretaceous period. Using anatomical data, we created a digital model that includes the landscape and various animal and plant species, based on scientific knowledge of the region's fauna and flora. Key tools employed in this project included Photoshop, Blender, and 3D Vista. Blender played a crucial role in modelling the biotope's spatial area, ensuring anatomical accuracy through polygonal mesh construction. Textures were applied in Photoshop, while rigging and animation were carried out in Blender for models of Scipionyx and Derasmosaurus. The final presentation, hosted on 3D Vista, offers a 360-degree immersive experience of the digital twin fossil environment. This project, based on a multidisciplinary approach, enhances education and promotes palaeontological heritage. More information can be found here: Amore, F.O., et. al. 2025. Geoheritage, 17(1), 31. To explore this virtual reconstruction, visit: https://www.aurusricerca.it/virtualciro/.
