The experience of the journey. Digital technologies and visual itineraries to enjoyment of the city's cultural heritage

At the time of the Grand Tour, the guides who accompanied the traveler during his trip for educational purposes were reports, diaries, letters. With the birth of mass tourism are appeared the first modern guides designed to accompany the hurried traveler. In the 1836 is published the Murray guide and in 1914 the Touring Club of Italy published the first volume of the famous “Guide Rosse”. With the intention to renew the goal and the spirit of guides, the paper focuses on the relationship between digital technologies and enjoyment of the cultural heritage and suggests some itineraries for a "Digital Guide" for the appreciation of the cultural 'city' through experiences in Augmented Reality and Augmented Virtual. At the center there is just one “macro” case study: the city of Ascoli Piceno because it is paradigmatic of Italy’s cultural heritage, in other words, of the extremely extensive and varied cultural heritage which is considered as “minor”. In relation to the case study, the applications designed are proposed as itineraries of a guide to for the city which provide different ways to approach the different cultural contents. The itineraries use mostly visual communication models which exploit sensory involvement, experience and participation. These involve the traveler and encourage him to act following the memory of his emotions, the timescale and actions of the story. With this meaning, the purpose that unifies the applications is to propose a journey through a handbook with which to experience a new vision of the city