Vatican Library Launches NFT Project for Cultural Preservation

cryptonews.com:

The Vatican Library on Monday revealed plans to broaden Web3 adoption by granting non-transferable NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) to those who support its manuscript collections.

Currently, the “experimental” project is limited to donors from Italy supporting the Vatican Apostolic Library.

The library, which has a huge collection of old handwritten documents and printed books, explained the program in a statement. Italians who promote the NFT project on their social media profiles until July 16 will receive a “Silver NFT.” This NFT allows access to a unique collection of high-resolution images depicting 15 manuscripts from the library.

Meanwhile, those who donate will receive a “Gold NFT” for access to all the high-resolution manuscript pictures in the selection. This experiment might even expand in the future, letting people explore the library virtually through immersive XR (extended reality) technology.
The Apostolic Library is situated within Vatican City in a building that dates back to the late 16th century.

17 June16 July 2024: NTT DATA and the Vatican Library launch in Italy a project that rewards users with NFTs, granting exclusive access to a special collection of the Library's digitized heritage.
To access the project (only for users from Italy): https://t.co/xJNJPNWvGE

— Vatican Library (@vaticanlibrary) June 17, 2024

The Vatican said it has partnered with Japanese tech giant NTT DATA to leverage Web3 and build a stronger online community. The project aims to connect the library with its supporters through this approach.

Last year, NTT revealed plans to invest heavily in Web3 infrastructure, with a commitment of up to $4b. The company is further diving into the crypto space with a subsidiary aiming to launch its own