Historic urban fabrics and architectural heritage are subject to a wide range of international charters and conventions that establish guiding principles for conservation, restoration, documentation, reconstruction, and cultural tourism. Foundational documents such as the Venice Charter, the Nara Document on Authenticity, UNESCO conventions, and the Burra Charter emphasize concepts including authenticity, integrity, accurate documentation, and the responsible use of heritage resources. In practice, however, the implementation of these principles has become increasingly complex due to factors such as physical deterioration, natural hazards, restricted accessibility, and the growing pressures of mass tourism.
In recent years, advances in immersive digital technologies have introduced alternative approaches to addressing these challenges. Among them, the Metaverse understood as a three-dimensional digital environment integrating Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) has gained attention as a platform for experiencing, documenting, and interpreting cultural heritage. Unlike conventional visualization or presentation tools, Metaverse-based environments allow users to engage with heritage spaces interactively and remotely, often through digital avatars, thereby expanding possibilities for access and interpretation beyond physical constraints.
Although immersive technologies have been increasingly employed in heritage-related projects, their relationship with the normative frameworks defined by international heritage documents has not been sufficiently examined. Existing studies tend to focus on technical capabilities or user experience, while questions of compatibility with established conservation principles remain underexplored. This study seeks to address this gap by examining how Metaverse-related capabilities correspond to the requirements articulated in international charters and conventions concerning historic environments.