Muse-Unveiling: Virtual Journeys into Una Europa’s University Museums

Today, Monday 5 May, the university museums of Una Europa open their virtual doors to the public. Muse-Unveiling—an international project involving eight of the eleven universities in the Alliance, including the University of Bologna—was developed to make the cultural and environmental heritage of Una Europa’s collections accessible through two digital exhibitions.

The project will be introduced at 17:15 in the Auditorium of the Department of Economics (Piazza Scaravilli 2, Bologna) by Patrizia Battilani, professor of Economic History at the University of Bologna. The event will provide an opportunity to explore how digital innovation can transform university museums and strengthen their social and environmental roles.

The exhibition Heritage of the Dialogue and Ideas Circulation between Universities showcases the long-standing tradition of European universities in exchanging knowledge, tools, and research. Through museum objects, it draws connections between academic practices of the past and those of today—from medieval student mobility to current transnational alliances. European universities have long driven social and economic transformation while maintaining their cultural identities. This exhibition invites reflection on how academic collaboration continues to shape Europe’s intellectual and civic life.

The second exhibition, Unveiling the Environmental Heritage of University Museums, highlights how academic research helps define environmental heritage through university collections. It presents different interpretations of this emerging concept—from legal and policy frameworks to the impact of energy and climate change on material culture. By offering interdisciplinary perspectives, the exhibition positions universities as key players in building sustainable relationships between culture, nature, and society.

Muse-Unveiling was designed to digitise, share, and reinterpret the heritage preserved in university museums. Through collaborative storytelling and digital technologies, the project fosters knowledge-sharing, dialogue, and innovation, promoting a shared European vision.

In addition to the University of Bologna, the project includes contributions from the University of Edinburgh, Helsingin yliopisto, Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie, KU Leuven, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Universität Zürich.