Description of the Action
SENSES is dedicated to understanding how people experienced court residences in medieval and early modern Europe. These palaces were not only impressive architectural settings — they were lived-in environments filled with sound, fragrance, colour, texture, ceremony, and movement. By bringing together researchers from the humanities, heritage professionals, and digital humanities specialists, SENSES investigates these multisensory worlds and the ways they shaped courtly life. The Action also explores how digital tools such as 3D modelling, acoustic reconstruction, and immersive technologies can help us study, preserve, and present this heritage today. Through collaborative research, training, and open exchange, SENSES works to make Europe’s court residences more understandable, more accessible, and more meaningful for a wide range of audiences.
Background
SENSES builds on major developments in three growing fields: court studies, sensory history, and digital humanities. Over the past decades, scholars have increasingly recognised that historical spaces were shaped not only by architecture and objects but also by sound, smell, touch, movement, and atmosphere. At the same time, heritage professionals and digital specialists have begun using new technologies — such as 3D modelling, acoustic analysis, and virtual or augmented reality — to reconstruct and communicate these experiences.
Yet collaboration across these communities has remained limited. By addressing this gap, SENSES brings together diverse expertise to rethink how Europe’s court residences were created, experienced, and interpreted. The Action draws on this rich scholarly and technological foundation to explore the multisensory dimensions of palace life and to support more inclusive, research-based approaches to presenting court heritage today.
Objectives
SENSES brings together researchers, heritage professionals, and digital specialists to advance a shared understanding of the multisensory dimensions of Europe’s court residences. Its objectives fall into three interconnected areas:
Scientific Objectives
SENSES aims to deepen knowledge of court residences as multisensory environments by studying how sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, and movement shaped palace life between 1300 and 1800. The Action supports innovative research that investigates sensory experience in relation to architecture, material culture, ritual, and daily practice. It also promotes the use and critical evaluation of digital tools — from 3D and acoustic modelling to VR/AR — to explore past environments and reconstruct sensory phenomena that are otherwise difficult to access.
Research Coordination Objectives
The Action strengthens collaboration across disciplines and sectors by creating a shared platform for historians, art and architectural historians, musicologists, archaeologists, heritage curators, and digital experts. Through conferences, workshops, and joint activities, SENSES encourages dialogue on methods, sources, and best practices for studying and communicating sensory heritage. This includes developing a common language and clearer “academic specifications” for digital reconstructions, ensuring that new digital outputs are both historically grounded and publicly meaningful.
Capacity-Building Objectives
SENSES works to reduce disparities in knowledge, access, and technical resources across Europe. It provides training opportunities for early-career researchers, supports the exchange of expertise between academia and the heritage sector, and fosters inclusive participation throughout the network. By encouraging collaborative projects and linking research with museum practice, the Action aims to strengthen the long-term preservation, interpretation, and public relevance of palace heritage. Ultimately, SENSES seeks to raise awareness of the rich sensory dimensions of court residences and to contribute to a stronger shared European cultural identity.