The Geoportal brings the region’s cultural heritage to life, combining the region’s history with its unique landscape whilst creating a bridge between the present and the past. It invites you to discover places in Gröden and the surrounding area where objects of historical interest originated from or were found. It enables associations to be made between archaeological and palaeontological finds and their discovery sites, between local minerals typical of the area and the unique geological features of the Seiser Alm, and between works of art with centres of production or the architecture that they were once a part of. The objects are cultural assets belonging to the Museum Gherdëina collection and are representative of the building culture.
Locals and visitors, students and researchers alike will see Gröden from a new perspective with the Geoportal. It is perfect for people interested in culture and keen on hiking, as well as those involved in the local tourist industry. To be accessible to everyone by reducing language barriers, its contents are available in Ladin, Italian, German and English.
This is how it works
Map
You can discover all the spots that the objects originated from or where they were found with the interactive map.
Zoom in to get interesting information about the objects – short explanatory texts, pictures, videos and more links, especially to the ‘Museums in South Tyrol’ webpage. You can filter your search and narrow down the wide range of objects by selecting specific categories, periods and areas.
Tours
This is where you’ll find interesting routes and tips related to different topics inviting you to explore the natural environment, landscape, culture and history. The detailed information featuring descriptions of hikes and data on altitudes and walking times will help you to choose and plan the right tour. Not keen on hiking? Then simply explore the tours in an interactive way.
Games
Games are fun! You can try to identify objects based on the tiniest details in ‘Take a closer look’ or get to grips with Gröden’s geo-palaeontology during a game of memory.
If the Geoportal has aroused your curiosity, then come and admire the original versions of all the featured objects on a trip to Museum Gherdëina and find out more about the geology of the Dolomites and Gröden’s cultural history.
Report a find
If you discover something of archaeological interest on your tour, report it immediately. You can report a discovery at Museum Gherdëina, and all the formalities will be taken care of. If the finds are exhibited at the museum, you will be named as the finder.
Important: carrying out archaeological and mineralogical excavations without a licence is prohibited and every find – even a chance one – involving an archaeological and paleontological item must be reported immediately to the competent bodies, where they must be handed in.
Get more information about the legal situation in Italy and especially in South Tyrol.
How it came about
The project was set in motion by Museum Gherdëina and carried out within the framework of the NextGenerationEU programme for digital transformation in the creative and cultural sectors with funding from the Italian Ministry of Culture (Mission 1 – Investment 3.3.2 of PNRR) 2024 and 2025.
Aims
Geoportal enables Museum Gherdëina to pursue the goal of setting up a dialogue between the culture and the landscape of the Gröden area. In so doing, it promotes knowledge about and awareness of the unique cultural assets of the region and supports conscious and sustainable cultural tourism. It invites locals and visitors alike to discover the area from a comprehensive new perspective through a mix of culture, education and digital technologies.
The digital map is structured in an intuitive manner and its language is kept simple to appeal to the widest audience possible. A series of further measures have been taken to make the Geoportal accessible to the blind or visually impaired:
• Adaptation of the layout to allow active user interaction (e.g. buttons)
• Display of the objects on the homepage in list instead of map form
• The different tours are displayed as a navigable list
• Alternative texts to go with every picture
We wish you an enjoyable voyage of discovery with the portal!
The project team