Visit Ancient Rome by Virtual Time Machine?

An international team of archaeologists, architects and computer specialists today unveiled "Rome Reborn 1.0," a digital model of the city as it appeared in 320 A.D. and the most complete recreation of an ancient city ever built, according to news from the University of Virginia.

The first public viewing of the digital city was presided over by Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni in a ceremony at the Palazzo Senatorio on the Campidoglio in Rome. The three-dimensional recreation enables users to explore in real time almost all the streets and public buildings -- including the Colosseum, the Senate House and the Temple of Venus and Rome -- ringed by the 13-mile-long Aurelian Walls at the time that Rome was at its cultural peak and was inhabited by about one million people. Video clips and still images of the project are available online at http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu.

Launched in 1996 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), "Rome Reborn" began as the brainchild of Bernard Frischer, now director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Diane Favro, director of the Experiential Technologies Center at UCLA. The collaboration first employed the expertise of archaeologists and UCLA students of architecture, the classics and urban design. It later moved its administrative headquarters to the University of Virginia in 2004 and also enlisted the help of experts at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy through a cooperative research agreement.

" 'Rome Reborn 1.0' is the continuation of five centuries of research by scholars, architects and artists since the Renaissance who have attempted to restore the ruins of the ancient city with words, maps and images," said Frischer. "Now, through hard work by our interdisciplinary team, we have realized their seemingly impossible dream. This is just the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and many other great cities around the world."