UNESCO Longobard sites in Italy launch Minecraft experiences

Two new maps for Mojang's Minecraft allow players to explore an 8th-century Lombard city composed of seven monuments from the UNESCO serial site 'Longobards in Italy: Places of Power (568-774)'. The project, created by Associazione Italia Longobardorum in collaboration with Maker Camp, is free to download. The first map focuses on reconstructing and visiting monuments, while the second emphasizes Lombard daily life, hunting, and warfare. The maps include the Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo (Monte Sant'Angelo, Foggia), the Tempietto Longobardo (Cividale del Friuli, Udine), the Monastery of Torba (Castelseprio), the Tempietto del Clitunno (Campello sul Clitunno, Perugia), the Church of Santa Sofia (Benevento), the Church of San Salvatore (Brescia), and the Basilica of San Salvatore (Spoleto, Perugia). Critics note that the depiction of Lombards as civilized Christians opposing generic 'barbarians' is problematic, and the decontextualization of monuments—showing them in their current state, such as Santa Sofia with its Baroque façade and 19th-century fountain—oversimplifies centuries of history. However, the initiative is praised for its easy installation: players download .mcworld files from Maker Camp's site and import them into Minecraft Bedrock Edition without mods.