The idea that we may be able to recreate something that is so far away, in time and location, is incredible. To be able to recreate even partially what ancient Rome was like will give new perspectives to many. Walking through Rome in current day, although there are ruins and you are still able to imagine what life was like, it doesn’t come anywhere close to the real thing. The visualization that Favro is talking about makes this much more of a reality. You can get so much more of a feel for the ancient city if it looks like you are actually walking through the buildings at eye level. I do also like that the project focuses on the physical history and buildings and strays away from including people in it because it is “distracting.”
This made me think of the street view option that Google Maps has to offer. Although the intention of the map is for you to more easily visualize where you are going, it can also be used in a similar matter. Even in the picture, you can clearly see that the purpose of the map is not intended to give anyone a realistic idea of the area. However, it does have real cars and real people on the street as it would at any given moment. However, the picture quality tends to be a little grainy. It does create a snapshot of the world as we know it today, just as we are trying to recreate with Rome. You could potentially “walk through” the streets in other areas by just searching them on a map. Of course, the representation of Rome is much more detailed and well thought out, it is more or less the same concept – giving people the ability to see what something is really like without being there. While you can never retain the whole ambience of a setting through a visualization, creating something that looks like you could be walking through it makes it a much more realistic case.
Favro, Diane. “Methodological Essays « Visualizing Statues.” Visualizing Statues. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.