We meet Paola Zamperlini, one of the founders of HEART, an initiative that brings together inclusion and culture.
There are many things in life that we take for granted.
In Italy, for example, each of us is less than an hour away from at least one of the 59 UNESCO World Heritage sites across the country.
We also take for granted that, for most of us, accessing these places is easy.
As easy as looking at a work of art, admiring it, understanding it.
But we must remember that this is not always the case.
That even the very idea of being close to a place of beauty artistic or natural is a privilege.
That even simply seeing is a privilege.
This is the story of three people who have made these ideas the very heart of their initiative.
Three people who, from the depths of a beautiful province in southern Puglia – Lecce are building, with curiosity and expertise, a new way of experiencing art.
They are Paola Zamperlini, Arialdo Zamperlini and Mattia Moretto: the operational team and founders of HEART, established in 2023.
With a multidisciplinary background spanning Cultural Heritage Conservation and 3D scanning and photogrammetry technologies, they developed and patented a methodology that enables the three-dimensional reproduction of artworks-paintings or sculptures-made available to visitors for a tactile experience accessible above all to blind and visually impaired people.
Hi Paola, the world for you is…?
I’m passionate about art, so I would say… exploring and discovering culture.
In Italy we are very lucky: we are surrounded by beauty!
Can you tell us how HEART was born?
It all started by chance.
I often spend time in museum environments. One day I was visiting a museum. Generally, museums are governed by a certain silence a written or unwritten rule inviting us to focus and admire the artworks on display. That day, however, a couple caught my attention because the woman was describing, out loud and in great detail, every element of the painting in front of her. She was doing so because the man accompanying her was blind. This way of experiencing art deeply moved me and sparked the desire to give shape to the HEART project, which at that time was still in its infancy.
A few months after this episode, we were contacted by a restorer from Salento. A statue of a saint had been struck by lightning: the halo had fallen and shattered into countless pieces.
Together with Arialdo and Mattia, through our company Spe3D SRL, we work with 3D surveys and photogrammetry for buildings and artefacts. In collaboration with the restorer, we carried out a series of 3D scans of the fragments of the broken halo, recreated them digitally, reassembled them like a puzzle within software, and reconstructed them.
Within just a few weeks, these two experiences made us realise that the HEART project was feasible, that we had both the mission and the skills. And so we moved forward.
It wasn’t easy, because at the beginning of any project there is always a degree of scepticism especially in the cultural field, where tradition and conservation are central. But we always emphasise that we are not copying artworks; we are reproducing them using different methodologies.
And it is also true that something is still missing in the museum experience for blind and visually impaired people: simply listening to a description, however detailed or narrative, is not enough, even though it can be very moving. Blind people want to experience museums just like everyone else.
Can you guide me through the process of reproducing and displaying an artwork?
We carried out a “digital restoration” of a detail from the façade of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Lecce, one of the most emblematic examples of Lecce Baroque.
At first glance, when standing in front of this magnificent basilica, everyone looks at the beautiful rose window, towards which all the perspective lines of the façade converge. But the exact centre lies slightly lower a detail that even experts often overlook, yet one of great importance. It is a niche containing the statue of the Virgin of the Rosary, carved in Lecce stone, which has deteriorated over time.
What did we do? We tried to reimagine the forms that had been lost over the years. We used a drone to carry out photogrammetry, a scientific technique that allows 3D measurements, shapes and positions of objects to be obtained through a series of photographs taken from different angles. This enabled us to create the first digital model.
A true reconstructive restoration. The preliminary historical research was crucial in understanding the iconographic details of this Virgin. We reconstructed the forms based on hypotheses of what they might have been before time and weather eroded the Lecce stone. We restored the element of the Virgin’s crown only roughly sketched in the original as well as part of the crown of the Rosary held by the Child Jesus in Mary’s arms, which today is no longer visible, and so on.
We then 3D-printed the model and mounted it on a support equipped with an NFC tag which, via smartphones, allows an audio descriptive track to be played.
The artwork caption in Braille is accompanied by raised lettering in contrasting colours usually white text on a black background to help visually impaired people identify the title of the work and the author.
When we exhibited the Virgin of the Rosary to the public in May 2025, we designed a journey in which visitors could access the reproduction inside an immersive room: they could touch it and listen to an engaging narrative describing the artwork and its rediscovery.
The most beautiful part is that after the visit, many people sent us photos of the façade of the Basilica of Santa Croce, telling us that they had finally noticed the niche of the Virgin of the Rosary and that it had been wonderful to touch and learn about an artwork that is physically inaccessible.
How does HEART understand accessibility?
Our goal is to open the doors of art to everyone.
In Italy, we are not the first to promote this kind of tactile approach. What sets us apart is the offer of a complete, customised and economically sustainable journey, capable of adapting to the needs of different audiences.
During the months of ideation and development, we worked closely with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Lecce. It was a continuous dialogue with blind and visually impaired people. They expressed a clear desire to experience museums like everyone else: to enter a museum, follow the route, and encounter tactile artworks along the way. They do not want an entirely tactile museum, as that would be too demanding an experience.
So we listened, and we worked together.
How much has technology influenced your research phase?
A great deal. One example is the search for the material used to print the 3D reproductions: we carried out several tests and gathered feedback from associations of blind people to identify a surface that was solid, durable, yet pleasant to the touch.
Another example concerns the audio description: we did not choose QR codes, as they are difficult to frame. What we observed is that almost all blind and visually impaired people use an iPhone, because it comes with built-in and activated settings that allow NFC tags to be detected and read.
You have said several times that HEART aims to bring art closer to everyone…
Initially, we spoke of HEART as a cultural accessibility project, aimed at people with visual and motor disabilities.
After presenting it to the public, we realised that we want to talk about accessibility with a cross-cutting approach.
We are also referring to children, teenagers who are very far from this world as well as older people who may not be interested in art. Through this kind of interaction, visitors can establish a real connection with a reproduction of the artwork, experiencing it through senses we usually do not use when approaching figurative art, whether painting or sculpture.
We want to create a living relationship between the artwork and the visitor.
How did this insight emerge?
When we presented HEART to the public in May 2025, during the “Cortili Aperti” event promoted by the Italian Historic Houses Association – Puglia Section, we welcomed around 1,000 visitors and asked them to complete feedback questionnaires.
A significant portion were students from primary and lower secondary schools, aged between 5 and 13. Their responses were the most meaningful.
When these children entered the exhibition space and saw our 3D reproductions, they were hesitant: could they touch them or not? They had been taught not to touch anything in museums, to stay quiet, to look only. Seeing eight- and nine-year-olds touching every detail, lingering on shapes, fully engaged in the experience, was wonderful.
The situation was different with teenagers. I have an 18-year-old brother who does not like museums; for him, art is boring. We also gave a presentation at a high school. When we asked, “How many of you have visited a museum on your own initiative?”, no one raised their hand. Unfortunately, this is today’s reality.
Yet by the end of the morning, all the students wanted to take part in the tactile exploration. This showed us that new generations need a different approach to culture-one that makes them active participants, not just passive observers. Looking, reading and listening are important, but interaction between the artwork and the person is essential.
Was there curiosity or support from public and private institutions?
Part of our presentation event was made possible thanks to the patronage of the Municipality of Lecce, the Province of Lecce, and the Puglia Regional Guarantor for the Rights of People with Disabilities. Equally crucial was the support of local cultural promotion social cooperatives, such as Artwork, who hosted us in their exhibition spaces.
Looking ahead, what do you hope for HEART?
Our wish is to make the project as widely known as possible, even beyond the Salento area. We already have contacts in several regions of Italy. Every meeting can spark something new – a comparison, an exchange of ideas. We hope to collaborate with other museum institutions and to continue working on multiple fronts, especially rethinking cultural experiences for younger age groups children and teenagers so that they can develop a passion for art and beauty in a new way.
Sooner or later, all organisations will need to take a step towards a culture of accessibility. And we hope this will happen soon, at local and regional levels, in both the private and public sectors.