Gothicmed is aEuropean Union project carried out within theCulture 2000 (2000–2006) programme and headed by the Ministry of Culture of theregional government of Valencia, Spain.[1] Although the producer for this project remains unknown,[2] the European Union's funding exceeded 500.000 Euros. The project aims to gain further insight intoGothic architecture in the Mediterranean.
In 2004, theInstituto Cervantes (Spain) got involved with Gothicmed to create a virtual museum of Mediterranean Gothic architecture.[3]
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This project's goal is to create a network ofresearch anddissemination on MediterraneanGothic architecture that will enable thisknowledge to be shared and spread. In the Mediterranean, stylistic features readily intertwine with its contemporarymediaeval architecture incentral andnorthern Europe. However, the buildings are often quite distinct. Not surprisingly, themediaeval architectural styles in the Mediterranean were built following traditions from the lateRoman era. The ruined buildings from theancient world scattered around the Mediterranean were the building manuals for whoever wanted to read them. The presence of an interesting Manual on PracticalGeometry, orGeometria fabrorum, conveyed byguilds andworkshops, characterises this episode in architectural history.[citation needed]
VisualisingPanoramic views of Gothic monuments was one of the most challenging parts of the project, and it necessitated an exchange of experience between photographers of the different participating countries.[citation needed]
Each of the project partners producedpanoramic pictures that were installed in thevirtual gallery of the site. A tour through a border-less,virtual museum can be made through the open halls, which correspond to each of the sponsors of the project:Valencia Region, Greece,Sicily,Alentejo,Slovenia and the initiatives promoted by theInstituto Cervantes. Images of themonuments can be accessed via each of these halls by avirtual tour (panoramic images) or aguided tour (a text written by specialists, accompanied by layouts). Other sections include alibrary,news and links with other related websites. Upload onto Internet novel images inserted into virtual views of the most prominent monuments in this architectural style. These virtual views have been created throughpanoramic photographs, picture galleries, and videos. Texts have also been written with other images and drawings by specialists in the field, and the scientific community will have access to specialized books and articles online. GOTHIC medicine cannot replace seeing and enjoying Mediterranean Gothic architecture first-hand, but it does encourage it to be visited and allow knowledge about it to be enhanced. All partners have been invited to produce woodenscale models of Gothic monuments or parts of monuments, like Gothic staircases, to be shown in the travelling exhibition, which has been the more time-consuming activity of the project since it has been necessary to join efforts of an interdisciplinary team of professionals. These models are at a scale of 1/50 and have been displayed on wooden pedestals. A total of 10 models travelled to each of the project's locations in the framework of the travelling exhibition in Valencia (ES),[4] Évora (PT), Palermo (IT), Ljubljana (SI), and Athens (GR).[citation needed]