On a sunny Monday morning in late September, a river of travelers was flowing slowly through the Plaza de la Rotonda. The centerpiece of the square is the Pantheon, a nearly 2,000-year-old temple to all the Roman gods and one of the city’s most popular landmarks.
The front is lined with imposing Corinthian columns and deserves attention. Almost every visitor slowed down to take a photo or selfie, trying in vain to capture its perfect proportions in pixels.
Antonio Preiti, a Roman citizen himself, was also using his smartphone in front of the Pantheon. He started the conversation with a simple question. Is there a quiet, historic place to eat lunch nearby?
A virtual tour guide named Julia, commissioned by the City of Rome and powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service powered by GPT-4o, replied that Piazza Mattei, also known as Turtle Square, was only a 15-minute walk away. There you will find another typical place in Rome, with layers spanning thousands of years. Preity and her two companions set out as per Julia’s instructions.
The AI virtual assistant is the brainchild of Preiti and the Roman government. The Roman government is preparing to welcome 35 million additional visitors to celebrate the Catholic Jubilee Year in 2025. The name Julia was chosen because it is “short, fairly common in many languages, and has deep connections to Rome and its history,” Preity said. Julia is a typical Roman name. Julius Caesar’s daughter was Julia, Augustus’ daughter was Julia, and one of the oldest families in Rome had the Latin name “gens Julia”. ”
In collaboration with Microsoft and NTT Data, global providers of business and technology services, and Intelera, an Accenture Group consulting firm, the city expects Giulia to quietly revolutionize the way visitors experience the city. Masu. By providing travelers with a trusted guide, the city hopes to enrich the traveler’s experience beyond typical tourist routes while easing congestion around the most popular locations.
