Welcome to
Digital Piranesi's Pantheon
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) was a renowned Italian artist celebrated for his intricate etchings of the buildings of Rome and his captivating depictions of imaginary prisons. His works offer us a fascinating glimpse into the rich history and vibrant environment of 18th-century Rome. At the Center for Digital Humanities (CDH) at the University of South Carolina, we preserve and digitize the records of the past, leveraging the latest technology to bring them to life in the Information Age. By harnessing several of Piranesi's etchings of the Pantheon, we have created a mesmerizing Virtual Reality game that pays homage to his artistic vision, using cutting-edge tools such as 3D Blender and Unity.
As a valued member of The Digital Piranesi team, I made a significant contribution to the project by bringing our 3D models to life by creating each object and texture by hand, ensuring that each model accurately reflected the unique perspective and exaggerated proportions of Giovanni's engravings. I also played a key role in developing the first player for our cutting-edge VR environment, effectively bringing the project to the next level.
Please take a look at our VR demo (starting at 58:30):
Learn more about The Digital Piranesi from Dr. Jeanne Britton