Late in 2021, the Arch of Peace, the iconic attraction at Milan’s Parco Sempione that dates back to 1806, was rendered as a digital artwork by artist studio Ouchhh. The resulting work presented an immersive 360-degree experience — featuring a projection of a 3D sculpture of the arch, colored with algorithmically generated images — unveiled over New Year’s Eve.
Soon, this experience will be made newly available to the public through an upcoming NFT drop by crypto art project Monuverse.
What’s happening
Monuverse is launching with a drop of 7,777 NFTs minted of Ouchhh’s digital rendering of Milan’s Arch of Peace. Image: @Monuverse on Twitter
Monuverse seeks to use NFTs, VR, and metaverse technology to “enhance the world’s most iconic monuments,” and to bring cultural heritage into the 21st century. In short, the project will create virtual tourist experiences of global monuments through art displayed.
Each release from Monuverse is called an “episode,” which will encompass limited-edition NFT drops, with perpetual benefits for holders and institutions, ranging from special events to a percentage of revenue from drops and events to voting rights to choose the next monument.
Monuverse’s first NFT release of 7,777 tokens in seven levels of rarity will center on Ouchhh’s 2021 Arch of Peace installation, set to launch in November. A VR showcase of the work is also promised. According to its Twitter, 5,000 people have already joined the allowlist for this drop.
Following the reveal of the NFTs, holders will receive free 3D profile pictures, created in the style of the same historical period of the monument. In the future, Monuverse aims to transform these profile pictures into full-body avatars that will be able to roam the “Monuverse.”
Why it matters
The platform aims to be “the place to be for virtual tourists, brands, artists, creators, gamers, art galleries, festivals, and more.” Image: @Monuverse on Twitter
Whether pre or post-lockdown, tourism has long been getting a boost from technology. Presentations like Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition and Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru have variously used technologies like AR and VR to immerse audiences in distant monuments or locations, while achieving educational and preservation goals.
By adding Web3 into the mix, Monuverse furthers the larger project of digital heritage and virtual tourism, ensuring these attractions a presence on the blockchain. One could imagine a metaverse housing artistic reinterpretations of these monuments to rival Meta’s Horizon Worlds. Sharing knowledge about both local and international monuments, in the platform’s view, is a means to help local institutions preserve and restore those monuments, and with the sale of NFTs, improve funding sources for preservation efforts.
What they said
“The end goal for Monuverse is to become the most active and suggestive venue in the metaverse, the place to be for virtual tourists, brands, artists, creators, gamers, art galleries, festivals, and more — showing the world Web3 and the power of community is ready to have a grand impact in its preservation.” — Monuverse
