The Impact of Mobile Technologies on the Museum Experience

In the last ten years, mobile technologies have become more and more important not just in our everyday life, but also in museums and heritage sites, thus gaining an increasing attention in international scientific research on museum management. In this context, the present paper aims to explore the role of mobile technologies within the museum context, in order to understand if and how audio guides affect both the different dimensions of the museum experience (i.e. learning, aesthetics, entertainment, engagement, and social) and visitor satisfaction and which experience dimension/dimensions is/are most influenced by the use of mobile technologies. After a review of the scientific literature on this matter, a case study is provided, by analyzing and discussing data from the National Gallery of the Marche Region, a museum located in Urbino – a UNESCO city in the heart of Italy. First results provide some suggestions to innovate content and design of audio guides.