Staff profile

Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Associate Professor of Heritage and Human Geography at Durham University and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Essex. She is also an Expert Member of ICORP, the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness.

Her research explores the intersections of material culture, heritage and digital technologies, with a particular focus on how 3D technologies shape heritage-making, interpretation and recovery after crisis. Her UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project, REbuilding a sense of PLACE (REPLACE), investigates the socio-cultural role of 3D technologies in increasing community resilience after disasters, asking how digital heritage can help communities rebuild a sense of place and prepare for, respond to and recover from catastrophe.

Before joining Durham, she was Senior Lecturer in Heritage and Digital Humanities at the University of Essex, where she established undergraduate and postgraduate heritage programmes and served as former Director of the MA in Heritage and Museum Studies. She previously held a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship at the University of Cambridge and an Eastern ARC Fellowship in Digital Humanities at Essex. These Fellowships have facilitated the development of two additional research strands:

The first strand examines the role of 3D digital and printed replicas of artefacts, as well as digital soundscapes, in enriching the processes of meaning-making and interaction with historical material culture within museum settings. Specifically, I explore how 3D virtual and material replicas, along with object-based soundscapes, can redefine authenticity and enhance more immersive and emotionally impactful museum displays. Notable projects within this strand include "DIGIFACTS" and "Neurocuration".

The second strand focuses on collaborative initiatives with small and medium enterprises as well as educators, with the goal of leveraging novel pedagogies and 3D technologies to enhance young people's critical engagement with the complexity of their heritage in conflict-affected countries. For instance, I co-developed the "Ksar Said: A Virtual Experience" project in Tunis, supported by the British Council Cultural Protection Fund. This collaboration involved the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education (Co-I), the Virtual Experience company (PI), and the Rambourg Foundation (Partner). Presently, I am trying to co-develop similar research programmes in Syria and Lebanon.

Her research outputs encompass practice-based work, as well as publications in reputable journals and books. She is the recipent of the 2021 BAFTSS Practice Research Innovation award for co-directing the film "Italia Terremotata." This film showcases the resilience of communities in post-earthquake Italy, highlighting their stories and experiences.

• Disaster Heritage
• Immersive Heritage
• Heritage Landscapes
• Community Resilience
• 3D digital technologies for heritage and museums
• Sense of Place
• Legacies in/of place

• 2022 - 2026: UKRI Future Leaders Fellow: