What others are saying:
"We are incredibly excited to see our technology applied in a project of such amazing quality and importance," said David Urbanic, Founder and President of Zoomify, Inc. "The Parma Project expertly combines leading-edge technologies, the highest-quality photography, and artful design to bring every amazing detail of these historical treasures to a worldwide audience in the manner worthy of their cultural significance. Magnifico!"
David Urbanic, Founder and President, Zoomify, Inc.

"Kaidan is extremely proud to be a sponsor and associated with the VRWAY Parma Baptistery VR Project and Case Study. The level of VR image quality and production values has created a new standard, a benchmark that illustrates the power and impact of VR technologies. In a time when most people are familiar with the average, utilitarian ho-hum real estate virtual tour, here's an opportunity to experience a truly breathtaking location. Somehow, the term virtual tour seems inadequate."
Jim Anders, President, Kaidan Incorporated

“The Parma Baptistery project is a very fine example of the excellent results that can be achieved using REALVIZ Stitcher. We have been showcasing the Case Study on our own website since its launch, to illustrate to the large community of professional photographers and expert users out there, the stunning results attainable at the highest-possible resolution. This is the kind of project Stitcher was born for."
Patrick Dumas, COO, REALVIZ

The magazine's editorial director, Marco Trezzini, believes the 600,000,000-pixel size is a first for the Internet. "Zoomify technology allowed us to bring incredible detail to users, regardless of their Internet connection speed," he said. "Normally, ultra high-resolution pictures like these are bandwidth intensive, but we wanted these VRs to be accessible to everyone."
From Dennis Sellers article in MacCentral

In the beautiful northern Italian city of Parma, well-known by food lovers for its prosciutto di Parma and parmigiano reggiano, lies a square housing a 12th century Duomo and pink marble Baptistery, considered to be one of the most important Italian medieval monuments.

We’ve captured these beautiful medieval monuments in stunning virtual reality - 360-degree panoramic photos shot in extremely high resolution - that enable you to zoom in on areas of interest for closer inspection (when using the Zoomify plug-in).

The Piazza del Duomo, located just outside Parma’s ancient core, was selected for Parma’s Duomo in the mid-1000s as the city core was already full at that early date. The Duomo was almost 500 years old when Correggio redecorated the cupola. The Baptistery was commissioned in 1196 and overseen by Antelami until 1216, until construction was interrupted due to the lack of pink Veronese marble caused by fighting between Parma and Verona.

The Duomo is considered one of the best examples of 12th century Romanesque architecture in Italy. Work began in the 11th century by order of Pope Honorius II, and it was completed between 1130 and 1178. The façade features three orders of loggias and is flanked by a tall gothic brick tower. The presbytery stands exactly on the crypt and is above the floor level. The dome contains Correggio’s famous depiction of the Virgin’s Assumption, widely viewed as one of the most inventive and influential frescos of the Renaissance. The Venetian painter Titian famously said of it, “Turn the dome upside down and fill it with gold and even so, you will still not have paid a just price for it.” In the mid-19th century, Charles Dickens visited the cathedral and had quite a different impression:

This cathedral is odorous with the rotting of Correggio's frescoes in the Cupola. Heaven knows how beautiful they may have been at one time. Connoisseurs fall into raptures with them now; but such a labyrinth of arms and legs: such heaps of fore- shortened limbs, entangled and involved and jumbled together: no operative surgeon, gone mad, could imagine in his wildest delirium.
Charles Dickens, Pictures from Italy, 1846

The Baptistery is considered a transition work between the Romanesque and Gothic styles and is the vision of one man, Benedetto Antelami. Built on an octagonal plan and constructed of pink Verona marble, it contains an impressive selection of 13th and 14th century frescoes and paintings. Outside this octagonal building, built between 1196 and 1270, are three splayed portals; the north and west portals are by Antelami while his students probably finished the south portal, the least decorated of the three. The inside is divided into 16 sides rising into 16 niches, with each fresco portraying a biblical scene and surrounded by sculptures representing the months, the seasons and the signs of the zodiac. Of special note are the statues contained in the niches, particularly Solomon and the queen of Sheba, and the Archangel Gabriel. In the centre of the Baptistery, the double baptismal immersion bath with an octagonal structure dates back to the end of the 13th century.

Comments:
Truly a masterpiece VR. I have never seen anything this beautifully done. Just marvelous in every respect.A beautiful example of a marvelous technique
ldelatorre@earthlink.net on 2002-11-06 17:10:12

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