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:
• 2022: University of Essex, Outstanding Early Career Researcher:
• 2021: BAFTSS Innovation award for the film Italia Terremotata:
• 2020 - 2026: Associate Editor of the Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage:
• 2018 - 2021: Eastern ARC Fellowship in the Digital Humanities:
• 2014 - 2016: Marie Sklowdowska Curie Intra European Fellowship, University of Cambridge:

Chapter in book

• The Ontology of 3D Digital and Printed Replicas of Artifacts Inside Museums Authenticity, Play, and the Sense of Touch
  
  Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P. (2022). The Ontology of 3D Digital and Printed Replicas of Artifacts Inside Museums Authenticity, Play, and the Sense of Touch. The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

Journal Article

• Editorial: Digital heritage futures
  
  Aydin, S., Schnabel, M. A., Chowdhury, S., & Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P. (2026). Editorial: Digital heritage futures. Frontiers in Computer Science, 8, Article 1812123. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2026.1812123
• Values-Led Digital Design for the Post-Disaster Recovery of Heritage and Sense of Place
  
  Dolcetti, F., Perry, S., & Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P. (2025). Values-Led Digital Design for the Post-Disaster Recovery of Heritage and Sense of Place. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 18(4), Article 72. https://doi.org/10.1145/3771096
• Can immersive technologies rebuild heritage and sense of place? Examining Virtual Reality’s role in fostering community resilience in post-disaster Italy
  
  Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., Dolcetti, F., Baraldo, M., & Dey, S. (2025). Can immersive technologies rebuild heritage and sense of place? Examining Virtual Reality’s role in fostering community resilience in post-disaster Italy. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 31(7), 956-977. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2025.2520760
• Place-centred emerging technologies for disaster management: A scoping review
  
  Baraldo, M., & Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P. (2024). Place-centred emerging technologies for disaster management: A scoping review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 112, Article 104782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104782
• Earthquakes, communities and heritage: Telling stories of resilience through co-designed immersive media
  
  Galeazzi, F., Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., Toulson, R., Camporesi, C., & Patel, S. (2023). Earthquakes, communities and heritage: Telling stories of resilience through co-designed immersive media. Visual Studies, 38(1), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/1472586x.2022.2102539
• Sonic enhancement of virtual exhibits
  
  Al-Taie, I., Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., Tymkiw, M., Williams, D., & Daly, I. (2022). Sonic enhancement of virtual exhibits. PLOS ONE, 17(8), e0269370. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269370
• Ksar Said: Building Tunisian Young People’s Critical Engagement with Their Heritage
  
  Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., Winterbottom, M., Galeazzi, F., & Gogan, M. (2019). Ksar Said: Building Tunisian Young People’s Critical Engagement with Their Heritage. Sustainability, 11(5), 1373. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051373
• Theorising 3D Visualisation Systems in Archaeology: Towards more effective design, evaluations and life cycles
  
  University of York, Galeazzi, F., Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., & University of Cambridge. (2017). Theorising 3D Visualisation Systems in Archaeology: Towards more effective design, evaluations and life cycles. Internet Archaeology, 44. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.44.5
• Framing the past: How virtual experience affects bodily description of artefacts
  
  Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., Matthews, J. L., & Matlock, T. (2016). Framing the past: How virtual experience affects bodily description of artefacts. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 17, 179-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2015.04.006
• Comparing 2D pictures with 3D replicas for the digital preservation and analysis of tangible heritage
  
  Galeazzi, F., Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., & Matthews, J. L. (2015). Comparing 2D pictures with 3D replicas for the digital preservation and analysis of tangible heritage. Museum Management and Curatorship, 30(5), 462-483. https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2015.1042515
• 3D Printing and Immersive Visualization for Improved Perception of Ancient Artifacts
  
  Di Franco, P. D. G., Camporesi, C., Galeazzi, F., & Kallmann, M. (2015). 3D Printing and Immersive Visualization for Improved Perception of Ancient Artifacts. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 24(3), 243-264. https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00229

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Italia Terremotata
  
  Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P., & Galeazzi, F. (2026, November 23). Italia Terremotata. In a.r.u. StoryLab [Digital/Visual Output].