Notre Dame in Paris to be mapped digitally by Microsoft

A woman snaps a photo on her smartphone as visitors queue outside Paris’s newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral last December. Photo: Reuters

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is to be digitally mapped by US tech giant Microsoft, with every detail of its Gothic sculptures captured.

The project is expected to take at least a year and cost several million dollars, Microsoft President Brad Smith told magazine Le Point on Monday.

The Parisian landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral reopened in December after a devastating 2019 fire and years of restoration. Photo: Reuters

Following the example of previous digitalisation projects, such as St Peter's Basilica in Rome, the cathedral will be captured using high-precision technology to ensure it is digitally preserved for future generations.

The Parisian landmark reopened its doors in December after a devastating fire in April 2019 and years of renovation work.

Smith, who is in the French capital, also announced that around 1,500 historical stage set models from the Paris Opera are to be digitised in collaboration with the French Ministry of Culture. - dpa