Translating Cultural Heritage on the Web

Within the wider scope of intersemiotic translation, this contribution intends to place its focus on transmedia adaptation of multimodal content in web-based promotion of cultural heritage. This domain has been selected as the main field of investigation, primarily for the degree of engagement it shows with the full spectrum of transmedia communication across digital platforms and through mobile technologies. Historic monuments, sites and related events are usually described in specific place narratives on dedicated websites, remediated into virtual tours and photo galleries, promoted on the social web and disseminated through mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. In order to illustrate strategies and aims of these transmedia storytelling practices English Heritage, the government body in charge of England’s historic buildings, is taken as the case study by reason of its high profile, effective design and degree of innovation. The analysis highlights the effects of nonlinear narrativity and co-tellership on text formats and the forms of user interaction they foster, forms of interaction that, in turn, are modifying heritage discourse itself, contributing to the construction of participatory cultures and plural landscapes.