Discovering Montsant, the app on cultural heritage of the Montsant mountain range
The UAB has created the "Descobrim el Montsant" app to inform about the research conducted at Les Coves del Fem of Ulldemolins by researchers from the Department of Prehistory, as well as provide information on other historical and natural areas of the mountain range. The app is open and free so that other institutions can adapt it to disseminate their resources of interest.
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) presented today its Descobrim el Montsant, an app designed to disseminate research conducted on the cultural heritage of the Montsant Natural Park (Priorat), available for different mobile devices. The app, which is open and free, makes it easy to access the scientific dissemination material created thanks to the work carried out by UAB researchers at the prehistoric site of Les Coves del Fem in Ulldemolins, and in other emblematic sites of the region.
This new tool was created by the team at the UAB Department of Prehistory with the support of the FCRI 2024 grant for the Fostering of Scientific Culture in Catalonia by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI). Also collaborating in the creation of the app were the UAB Digital Lab, the Milà i Fontanals Research in the Humanities Institute (IMF-CSIC), the Serra de Montsant Natural Park and the Ulldemolins City Council. The architecture of the application was developed by the Lypsum company, based in Cambrils.
The presentation of the app took place at the Ulldemolins Civic Centre in an event that included the representatives of all collaborating institutions and entities. Antoni Palomo, UAB researcher and coordinator of the project, highlighted "the effort and collaboration of all project participants to make sure that the new app provides rich and scientifically-based information of interest on our cultural heritage to all citizens".
From left to right, Roberto Carracedo, UAB postdoctoral researcher who participated in the development of the app; Miquel Gómez, director of the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI); Sergi Méndez, mayor of Ulldemolins; David Iturria, director of the Serra de Montsant Natural Park and Antoni Palomo, UAB professor and principal investigator of the project.
Descobrim el Montsant allows one to work offline with a previous download of the information resources it contains, which favours its use in places without mobile phone coverage. These resources can be consulted autonomously at different points of interest (archaeological, historical and natural) that are part of a signposted and geo-referenced route. The contents incorporated allow one to explore and discover the area in an interactive way, with digital objects of different types: sound, video, photographic, textual, 3D and 360° images.
At the moment the prototype already has two routes that run through various areas of the municipality of Ulldemolins. The first is circular in nature and covers a distance of some nine kilometers, passing through various places of interest, such as the Baroque church of Sant Jaume, the prehistoric site of Les Coves del Fem, Les Cadolles and the hermitage of Sant Antoni. The second itinerary is mainly located in the area of Les Obagues d'Ulldemolins, an area of great natural interest. The route, also circular, starts at the sanctuary of the Mare de Déu de Loreto and passes through places such as the open-air flint exploitation of Les Pedrenyeres, the river Teix or the hermitage of Santa Magdalena.
The team that developed the application will provide its architecture to institutions interested in using it to disseminate their resources of interest.
Links to download the Descobrim el Montsant app
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zoonim.dolphales
Apple/ iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/descobrim-el-montsant/id6739718016