On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and China in 2020, in order to promote the cultural and artistic exchanges between Italy and China, in response to the series of activities of the 2nd Shanghai International Art Transaction Month, and in order to discuss the application of modern technology in the inheritance and development of culture and art, the seminar on the theme of ‘Modern Technology Helps the Inheritance and Development of Culture and Art’ was successfully held on 19th October, 2020 The seminar was successfully held on 19th October 2020. The seminar was supported by the Italian National Cultural Federation and the Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industries Promotion Leading Group Office. The seminar was organised by the Shanghai Institute of Culture and Creativity, hosted by Shanghai Creative City Technology Development Co., Ltd. and co-organised by Shanghai Shangjie Investment Co. This seminar is a project supported by special funds for cultural development in Xuhui District.

Due to the epidemic, the Italian guests could not be present in person, and Claudio Bocci, President of the National Federation of Italian Cultures, delivered a welcoming speech via video. As he mentioned in his speech, the current period of the symposium is the best time for China and Italy to carry out inheritance, protection, cooperation and exchange in the field of their respective cultural and artistic heritage.

In the keynote speech, Marco Cappellini, General Manager of Centrica Srl and head of the Digital Uffizi project in Italy, talked about how they digitised the cultural heritage of Florence, Italy through the development of ultra-high-definition technology and software platforms. Dr Cristina Ardidini, former President of the Union of Museums of Florence, former President of the Academy of Painting and Art of Florence, mentioned the practical application of technology in the restoration and conservation of cultural objects, and emphasised that technology has made it possible to create ‘virtual museums’, and that technology can be used to better exploit and disseminate our cultural heritage. Dr Dini mentioned the practical application of technology in the restoration and conservation of cultural objects. James M. Bradburne, Director of the Brera Museum of Art in Milan, Italy, focused on the innovative attempts of the Brera Museum of Art in Milan at many levels. He highlighted the concept of ‘Brera plus’, a virtual museum where visitors can explore all of Brera’s works and the details of each painting through the Internet. These innovations and experiments show us the important role that modern technology can play in the development of cultural and artistic institutions.

In the ‘Roundtable Discussion’ session, Qiang fluorescence, full-time deputy director of the Office of Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industries Promotion Leading Group, Tang Shifen, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Museum, Zhang Lan, Dean of the School of Conservation and Restoration of Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, and Dr. Elsa Bonaccini, visiting professor of the Institute for Digital Discovery of the University of South Florida expressed their views and had an in-depth discussion on the issue of ‘How to use digital technology to promote the development and innovation of cultural heritage’. ‘They expressed their views on how to use digital technology to promote the inheritance, development and innovation of cultural heritage and had an in-depth discussion, hoping to make use of this opportunity to draw on the experience of the Italian side to help museums and art galleries to explore the mode of cultural and artistic inheritance and dissemination suitable for China.

Finally, Qiang fluorescence made a summary of this symposium. He proposed that ‘art is lit by science and technology’ and ‘culture is the core, science and technology is the root’, and hoped that the cultural and creative art industry could seize the opportunity to further promote the development of cultural heritage protection and dissemination in the recovery stage after the epidemic.