Mondadori launches: “Florence – Virtual History” which is immediately elected as the Apple Store’s “App of the Week”

Florence, the city that symbolises the italian Renaissance, is the protagonist of a new iPad application: a unique combination of culture and technology
3D imaging, virtual reality technology and “immersive” photography for a unique experience of digital discovery

Mondadori consolidates its presence in the digital content market with the new Florence Virtiual History application, part of a series of apps of the same name, available in Italy and around the world. The history, the fascination and the secrets of renaissance Florence in a new application that was immediately selected as “App of the week”.

Using an iPad, with Florence – Virtual History you can now visit one of the world’s best-loved cities which, for centuries has produced a series of masterpieces by great masters and artists, giving users a unique experience. The application allows users to discover the wonders of Tuscany’s most important city, the historical birthplace of the Renaissance.

The app, which once again makes use of the consolidated and widely appreciated Bubble Viewer technology, covers the fascinating “conquest of reality” made by the great Florentine masters and describes the historical and cultural context that made it possible. You can therefore take an engaging journey among the masterpieces of Botticelli, Masaccio, Michelangelo, Rafael, Leonardo da Vinci, discovering the secrets of light, volume, anatomy and perspective.

3D models and “immersive” photography make it possible to interact with urban environments and architecture and to virtually get inside the symbolic worlds created by the Florentine imagination: from Dante’s inferno to the ideal cities of the fifteenth century.

Interactive maps and multi-touch tables offer the possibility of observing the evolution of the city through political upheavals, wars and the lives of great historical personalities, such as Lorenzo the Magnificent and Galileo.

“To talk about Florence is to talk about a fundamental part of the history of Italy. While the Renaissance was certainly what put Florence in the spotlight, Tuscany’s most important city was also the birthplace of a great many great works and personalities even before the Renaissance got underway, first and foremost, Dante,” declared Vittorio Veltroni, general manger of Mondadori Digital.

“With Virtual History Mondadori is introducing revolutionary innovations through a unique combination of culture and technology. These apps encourage a new diffusion of knowledge which, thanks to their ease-of-use, allow everyone to get closer and to develop a passion for art, travel, knowledge and the exploration of Italy’s leading cities and works of art. And the decision by Apple to promote the product as its “App of the Week” is a concrete indication of their appreciation,” Veltroni concluded.

Also for “Florence – Virtual History”, Mondadori has collaborated with Applix for the technological and editorial development of the application, a development characterised by the use of the innovative “Bubble Viewer” patent, which with 360° movement and a bit of curiosity allows users to become a part of the application.

After “Rome” and “The Last Supper”, “Florence” is the third in app the “Virtual History” series, the app is available from the App Store in Italian and English at €7.99 or $9.99.