The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said in a statement yesterday that the upgraded version of its Visiting the Ruins of St. Paul’s in Space and Time - Exhibition of Virtual Reality (VR) at the Ruins of St. Paul’s will be officially launched on Friday, March 24, further “restoring” the former Mater Dei Church’s exterior and surrounding environment, while presenting the interior and exterior of its building “more comprehensively and three-dimensionally”.
Mater Dei is Latin for “Mother of God”, a title of Mary.
The former church, which was built in 1640, was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in January 1835.
The first phase of the exhibition, which was launched in late December last year, had attracted a large number of visitors, the statement pointed out, adding that as of February 28, the exhibition had logged nearly 13,000 person-times, “widely disseminating Macau’s history and culture in an innovative way”.
In the upcoming upgrade experience, according to the statement, two new VR experience scenes with the themes of “Procession and Mass” and “The Mass and the Crab Dance” will be added on the basis of the original experience.
Augmented Reality (AR) experience areas will also be set up in the Ruins of St. Paul’s exhibition hall and in the square in front of it to tell the history of Macau’s centuries-old blend of complementary exchanges between Chinese and Western cultures from multiple perspectives, enriching the experience of visiting Macau’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the statement said.
The exhibition, which is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily including public holidays, comprises three sessions of 10 people each hour starting at the top of the hour, 20 minutes past and 40 minutes past respectively.
The statement said that members of the public can purchase the exhibition’s tickets priced at 50 patacas in the “activity applications” service of their Macao One Account for the top of the hour session in advance, while on-site tickets for the sessions of 20 minutes past and 40 minutes past are available after the exhibition is officially launched. The statement added that both tourists and residents aged five to 18 and 65 or above can enjoy half-price discounts.
In order to ensure the quality of the exhibition experience, visitors are required to check in at the Ruins of St. Paul’s information counter 10 minutes before the exhibition starts. Late arrivals will result in disqualification and no refund will be given, the statement underlined.
The former Mater Dei Church is the core building of the original St. Paul’s College, which was established in 1594 and closed in 1762.
Further details about the exhibition can be found at www.wh.mo/stpaulvr which is available in Chinese, Portuguese and English.
This VR image provided by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) yesterday shows an artist’s rendition of the former Mater Dei Church – a scene of the Visiting the Ruins of St. Paul’s in Space and Time – Exhibition of Virtual Reality at the Ruins of St. Paul’s slated to be launched officially next Friday.
