Reimagining access to natural heritage.
Mr. Plinio is an AI assistant developed for the Vesuvio National Park, improving accessibility and digital tourism infrastructure.
Mr. Plinio was not designed as a tool.
It was conceived as a presence.
An invisible layer that accompanies the visitor, translating the complexity of a living landscape into something accessible, immediate and human.
Overview
Mr. Plinio is conceived as a distributed interface across the Vesuvius National Park.
Accessible via QR codes, messaging platforms and web environments, it provides real-time support to visitors, enabling a continuous and frictionless interaction with the territory.
Rather than a tool, it functions as a layer, connecting physical space and digital intelligence.
A different way to experience a place
At the Vesuvio National Park, information is not always where you need it.
Paths, stories, safety, orientation, everything exists, but not always in the moment it is required.
Mr. Plinio emerges in that gap.
Accessible through a simple gesture: scanning a QR code, sending a message, it transforms the relationship between visitor and territory into a continuous dialogue.
Not searching for information, but being guided through it.
Recognized by ANSA
Mr. Plinio has been presented within the context of Open Outdoor Experiences 2026, where the Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio has been highlighted as a model integrating environmental protection and technological innovation.
The project was introduced as an AI-based system designed to improve access to information and enhance the visitor experience through orientation and real-time assistance.
→ Read article on Ansa.it
From interface to infrastructure
Mr. Plinio operates across multiple layers:
on-site, online, in real time.
It connects physical space and digital systems, enabling visitors to move, understand and interact with the park without friction.
Behind its simplicity lies a system capable of managing complex flows of information, adapting to different contexts, needs and levels of access.
What appears as a conversation is, in reality, a distributed infrastructure.
Presence, not assistance
The role of Mr. Plinio is not to replace human interaction, but to extend it.
To be available when no one else is.
To respond when time matters.
To reduce uncertainty without interrupting the experience.
It is a form of quiet support, constant, responsive, and invisible.
What changes
With Mr. Plinio, the park becomes:
— more accessible
— more responsive
— more inclusive
Visitors are not left alone with the territory.
They are accompanied through it.
Institutions, in turn, are relieved from repetitive informational tasks, allowing them to focus on care, preservation and strategy.
Impact
Mr. Plinio has contributed to:
— enhancing visitor experience
— increasing accessibility to the park’s resources
— reducing response times and operational pressure
— enabling a more inclusive and responsive system
It positions artificial intelligence not as an add-on, but as infrastructure.
A measurable transformation
In 2025 alone:
— over 6,400 interactions
— more than 32,000 messages exchanged
— an average response time of 12 seconds
— 84.6% user satisfaction
— 98.4% issue resolution rate
Numbers that describe not only efficiency, but adoption.
A model for what comes next
Mr. Plinio suggests a shift in how we think about technology in public spaces.
Not as an external layer, but as part of the environment itself.
An infrastructure that enables access, reduces distance and reshapes the experience of place.
Its approach has been recognized at a European level, with Mr. Plinio featured by the EUROPARC Federation as a case study on accessibility and inclusive tourism in protected natural areas and reported by ANSA as an innovative application of artificial intelligence in the cultural and tourism sector.
Recognition
Selected recognition and media coverage
Mr. Plinio has been featured by Parks.it, a national reference platform for protected areas, highlighting its role in improving access to information and enhancing the visitor experience within the Vesuvio National Park.
This recognition further positions the project within a broader ecosystem of innovation applied to natural heritage and public environments.
Mr. Plinio has also been featured by Viaggioff, which highlighted the project as part of a broader transformation of the Vesuvio National Park into a more accessible, inclusive and technologically advanced environment.
Within this context, Mr. Plinio is presented as a key element in redefining the visitor experience, where natural landscapes and digital systems converge to enable a more conscious and accessible form of tourism.
Mr. Plinio has also been covered by Cronache della Campania as part of the broader digital transformation of the Vesuvio National Park. The project is described as a pioneering application of artificial intelligence in protected areas, capable of providing real-time, multilingual and inclusive access to information.
Featured on Synthalia
Mr. Plinio has been featured as a project exploring the intersection between artificial intelligence and territory, highlighting how technology can enhance access to natural environments and reshape the visitor experience.
→ Read article: Mr. Plinio: quando l’intelligenza artificiale incontra il territorio.
Presentation
Mr. Plinio — Artificial Intelligence for Outdoor Tourism
Mr. Plinio has been presented at Open Outdoor Experiences in Paestum, Salerno, a key event dedicated to the future of sustainable and accessible tourism.
On April 12 at 10:30, the project has been discussed as a case study on how artificial intelligence can enhance orientation and real-time assistance in natural environments.
The session featured Raffaele De Luca, President of Vesuvius National Park and Raffaele Annunziata Digital Media Specialist at Seed Media Agency and creator of Mr. Plinio project , moderated by Giovanni Romano, Communication Manager at Vesuvius National Park.
Open Outdoor Experiences
Open Outdoor Experiences is a leading trade fair dedicated to active tourism, sustainable sports and outdoor lifestyles, held annually at NEXT, the former Tabacchificio in Capaccio Paestum.
The event brings together parks, institutions, tourism operators and communities to promote experiential and sustainable tourism.
Structured across thematic areas, from territories and routes to services and outdoor activities, it combines exhibitions, networking sessions, conferences and cultural experiences.
The 2026 edition takes place from April 10 to 12, positioning the event as a key meeting point for the outdoor sector in Italy.
Conclusion
Mr. Plinio is a replicable model of AI applied to tourism and cultural environments.
A system designed not only to inform, but to reshape how people experience places.
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