Magazzino Italian Art as the First Museum in the United States to Adopt Social Distancing Technology
As museums around the country prepare to reopen, a new technology has arrived from Italy to ensure social distancing as visitors arrive. For the first time, a device will be used in the monuments of Piazza del Duomo of Florence.
This new device ensures that safe distances between visitors are respected. It uses technology developed by an Italian company that originated it for the COVID emergency. Pending the Italian Government’s guidelines for the reopening of museums, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore is preparing a series of activities to ensure maximum safety and comfort when visiting its monuments. Among the various measures that will be put in place, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore announced that they will be the first to use a device within the museum environment that helps visitors to maintain the correct distances between themselves. It is an anonymous system that does not track movements and data. The device—Tag EGOpro Social Distancing—was made by the Italian company AME (Advanced Microwave Engineering) based in Florence. The company boasts many years of international experience in the field of safety in industrial environments, and during the COVID emergency, they adapted this system in order to guarantee interpersonal distances with warnings of danger if someone approaches.
Tag EGOpro Social Distancing, how it works
The small device (about 7 cm by 5 cm, by 1.3 cm in depth) will be provided by the Opera free of charge to tourists at the beginning of their visits, and while it is worn, the devices signals with vibrations and illuminations that the minimum allowed distance has been exceeded in order to ensure the safety and excellent quality of all visits. After the visit, the device will be returned and sanitized for later reuse. When members of the same family group visit together, it is possible to inhibit the alarm signal.
Pending guidance from the New York State government and the CDC on reopening cultural institutions in the mid-Hudson region, Magazzino Italian Art unveils plans for welcoming future audiences into the museum building safely, whenever it is possible to open their doors.
Magazzino Italian Art will be the first museum in the United States to adopt new social distancing technology to protect future visitors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These protocols include the launch of a mandatory online reservation system, bolstered in gallery wayfinding, creation of sanitation stations, regular cleaning of the space throughout hours of operation, contactless ticket exchange, availability of masks, temperature checks, the suspension of shuttle bus and coat check services, in addition to the distribution of a new wearable social distancing device, EGOpro Active Tags. Access to the museum and use of these services will be offered completely free of charge to patrons.
About Magazzino Italian Art
Located in Cold Spring, New York, Magazzino Italian Art is dedicated to advancing scholarship and public appreciation of postwar and contemporary Italian art in the United States. The nonprofit museum serves as an advocate for Italian artists as it celebrates the range of their creative practice, from Arte Povera to the present day. Through its curatorial, scholarly, and public initiatives and partnerships, Magazzino explores the impact and enduring resonance of Italian art on a global level.
Magazzino Italian Art, Copyright: © 2017 Marco Anelli
Meaning “warehouse” in Italian, Magazzino was co-founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. The 20,000 square-foot museum, designed by Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo, opened its doors in 2017, creating a new cultural hub and community resource within the Hudson Valley.