University of Exeter’s HistoryCity Wins European Award for Augmented Reality Storytelling

University of Exeter’s HistoryCity Wins European Award for Augmented Reality Storytelling

(IN BRIEF) The University of Exeter’s HistoryCity project has won the Virtual and Augmented Reality category at the Heritage in Motion Awards for its innovative use of AR in cultural tourism. Led by Professor Fabrizio Nevola and Dr David Rosenthal, the project delivers free GPS-guided trails and immersive first-person stories in cities such as Venice, Trento, Valencia, Copenhagen, and Hamburg. The award-winning entries included new Hidden Venice and Hidden Trento trails, created in collaboration with European historians and cultural institutions. Judges praised the initiative for its “museum without walls” approach, blending technology and historical research to bring heritage to wider audiences.

(PRESS RELEASE) EXETER, 29-Sep-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — University of Exeter researchers are celebrating after their international heritage project, HistoryCity, won a prestigious European award for its pioneering use of Augmented Reality. The initiative, which turns historical research into free GPS-triggered maps and immersive first-person narratives, was named winner of the Virtual and Augmented Reality category at the Heritage in Motion Awards.

Organised by the European Museum Academy and the Forum of Slavic Cultures, the awards spotlight how multimedia and digital technologies are reshaping the way history and heritage are shared and experienced. This year’s competition attracted entries from 22 countries across four continents – the first time in its 11-year history that it has been a global contest.

HistoryCity, developed by Professor Fabrizio Nevola and Dr David Rosenthal from Exeter’s Department of Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies, has created interactive cultural trails in cities across Europe. Dr Rosenthal, who accepted the award at the Money Museum in Budapest, praised the collaborative spirit of the project: “This recognition reflects the years of research and creative work that went into developing immersive trails like those in Hidden Venice and Hidden Trento. It also highlights the contributions of historians, curators, voice actors, and many others who have helped bring our stories to life.”

The Exeter-led team submitted its most recent projects to the awards: three new trails for Hidden Venice and one for Hidden Trento – The Fascist City. Judges praised HistoryCity’s “innovative use of extended reality to create immersive ‘living history’ trails that connect people, places, and stories,” applauding its role in building a “museum without walls” that broadens cultural access.

Collaborators on the latest trails included the Centre for Digital and Public History at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Fondazione Bruno Kessler – Instituto Storico Italo-Germanico, and historians from Dublin City University, the University of Trento, Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino, and the Soprintendenza per i beni e le attività culturali di Trento.

Now running for over a decade, HistoryCity has championed accessible, research-driven storytelling using smartphones. By linking cultural sites to the lives of diverse historical figures, it allows visitors to explore heritage beyond conventional tourist itineraries and experience history as a lived and narrated journey.

Media contact:
pressoffice@exeter.ac.uk

SOURCE: University of Exeter