A Major Cultural Initiative from Uğur Esin and Dem Museums to Rome: A Next-Generation Experience Museum for the Colosseum

The Colosseum’s 2,000-year-old history—listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List—will come to life again in a high-tech experience museum to be opened in Rome by a Turkish company. Dem Museums, the award-winning creator of museums at Hagia Sophia and Ephesus, is breaking new ground by carrying experience-based museology onto the international stage.

The rich history and legends of the Colosseum—one of the most magnificent structures of the Roman Empire—will be presented to visitors through a modern narrative in a next-generation museum to be developed in Rome by Dem Museums. The story of the Colosseum, which welcomed 14.7 million visitors last year, will meet visitors from all around the world through immersive experiences designed with advanced visual and audio technologies.

As the creator of the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum and the Ephesus Experience Museum, Dem Museums is recognized among the pioneers of experience-based museology in Türkiye and globally.

“We Work to Represent Our Country With Distinction”

Uğur Esin, Chairman of the Board of Dem Museums—whose Ephesus Experience Museum received the “World’s Best Museum” award in 2024, and whose Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum has won a total of 14 international awards over the past two years—stated that the Rome project is a great source of pride for Türkiye.

Referring to the company’s deep-rooted technology background, Esin said:

“Thirty-five years ago, with our first company Astel, we built the technical infrastructure for private television broadcasting in Türkiye. We delivered innovative projects across many sectors—from the digitalization of cinemas to high-security venue solutions. Over the last 15 years, we have carried this experience into the fields of culture and art. To date, we have played an active role in bringing 18 museums to life in Türkiye and around the world, blending traditional museology with technology, and through Dem Museums we became one of the first representatives of experience-based museology in Türkiye and globally. Now we are bringing this accumulation to Rome.”

“We Carry the Heritage of the Past Into the Future”

Emphasizing that experience-based museology is not only important for tourism but also for education and cultural transmission, Esin highlighted that younger generations are more receptive to learning history through digital content:

“Generation Z was born into the digital world. The technologies used are changing how young people perceive history. Thanks to these systems, children and young people can understand history much more easily. With these next-generation methods, we see interest in museums increasing even further among Gen Z.”

A Turkish Company Will Tell the Colosseum’s Story to the World

Stating that within the scope of the Rome project Dem Museums will undertake the entire process—including story development, experience design, exhibition planning, ticketing, and operational management—Esin said:

“We don’t just tell cultural heritage; we bring it back to life. From storytelling and content development to spatial design, from visitor flow planning to ticketing, we design every step with a holistic vision. The same approach will apply to the Colosseum project in Rome. After the renovation is completed, we will manage the entire operation. For a Turkish company to be delivering such a comprehensive project on the international stage is a source of pride for our country.”

About the Colosseum

The Colosseum, listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, hosted 12.2 million visitors in 2023 and approximately 14.7 million visitors in 2024.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Colosseum:

is 189 meters long,

156 meters wide,

over 48 meters high,

and stands out as one of the ancient world’s most striking engineering achievements, with its travertine-stone architecture and symmetrical plan.

In 2024, the Colosseum generated more than €100 million in revenue, becoming one of the strongest driving forces of tourism in Rome and Italy.

The new experience museum developed by Dem Museums aims to bring this powerful heritage together with advanced technology and reach far wider audiences.

Who Is Uğur Esin?

Uğur Esin combined his technology vision at a young age with entrepreneurship and founded Astel—one of Türkiye’s pioneering technology companies—in 1990. Growing rapidly in broadcasting technologies, technical infrastructure solutions, and studio systems, the company played a significant role in the development of private television broadcasting. Under Esin’s leadership, Astel delivered national and international projects across a wide range—from the digital transformation of cinemas to high-security solutions, from hardware design to software development.

Over the last 15 years, Uğur Esin has carried this extensive technology legacy into the fields of culture and art, contributing to the realization of 18 museums in Türkiye and worldwide. In 2020, he founded Dem Museums, a next-generation museology company, to grow this accumulation under a new vision. Projects such as the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum and the Ephesus Experience Museum quickly gained international recognition, winning 14 prestigious awards and becoming leading examples of next-generation museology. By combining advanced technology, immersive storytelling, multi-sensory experience design, and end-to-end operation, Dem Museums has redefined how cultural heritage is presented and has set a new international standard.

Today, Uğur Esin continues his journey with the goal of transforming Dem Museums into a world-class experience design brand. While delivering unforgettable moments to millions of visitors in UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Hagia Sophia and Ephesus, he aims to bring an innovative interpretation to the Colosseum’s story with the museum to be opened in Rome, and to connect cultural heritage with broader audiences globally through a new project in the United Kingdom. Dem Museums will continue to strengthen this vision with new projects across different regions of the world.

About Dem Museums

Dem Museums is an experience design company that combines more than 35 years of technology expertise with cultural storytelling, bringing together art and technology through innovative perspectives. Creating next-generation immersive museums with multi-sensory and interactive media designs and original content, Dem Museums designs inspiring experiences by blending art, history, and meaningful stories with technology.

Pioneering firsts in experience design and storytelling, Dem Museums conducts concept and narrative development with expert teams across many fields—from history to art and mythology. Leveraging the power of advanced technology, it creates historical and cultural experiences; using its expertise in thematic design and visualization, it delivers the most realistic experience possible. It also develops experiential designs and comprehensive architectural concepts, creating compelling narratives for visitors and meticulously planning the entire visitor flow to ensure a seamless and powerful experience.

Bringing the stories of Ancient Ephesus and Hagia Sophia to life through state-of-the-art visual and audio techniques, Dem Museums has developed next-generation museums that showcase Türkiye’s rich heritage. Dem Museums’s first experience museum, the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum, presents Hagia Sophia’s 1,700-year history from a holistic perspective. Located in the Defter-i Hakani Nezareti building in Sultanahmet, the museum transforms this deep-rooted past into a striking experience through advanced technologies. It also hosts nearly 300 historical artifacts, many of which are exhibited for the first time.

Another remarkable project by Dem Museums, the Ephesus Experience Museum, welcomes visitors in the Ancient City of Ephesus, which is included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Designed using immersive technologies, this museum creates a unique atmosphere that enables visitors to feel the daily life of Ancient Ephesus with all their senses. By offering an in-depth exploration of the era’s architecture, culture, and ways of life, it takes visitors on a rich, inclusive, and immersive journey. The Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum and the Ephesus Experience Museum have received international acclaim and, in just two years, have been honored with 14 global awards.

In the near future, Dem Museums is working to realize experience design projects abroad. The company has launched two major European projects: an immersive project in Rome focused on historical storytelling, and another immersive experience museum concept in London.

Behind these innovative projects lies Dem Museums’s passion for cultural and artistic storytelling and design. Focused on producing distinctive content by harnessing the power of storytelling, Dem Museums carries out design work across a broad spectrum—from historical research to concept development, from interactive media design to creative content production. In addition to creating tailored creative content for clients—its strongest area of expertise—it also develops its own original content (IP).

With its capabilities in experience design, Dem Museums is also specialized in visitor management for historical sites and structures, and is the first private operator in Türkiye to manage monuments, museums, religious sites, and art centers end-to-end. Each year, it manages all operational processes—welcoming, queue management, ticketing, visitor flow planning and implementation—continuously and efficiently, with expert staff, to enhance the experience of nearly 10 million visitors. While working to ensure visitors have a comfortable, safe, and impactful experience, it also protects the authenticity of historical sites and prioritizes their long-term sustainability.