There is no doubt that Italy has one of the largest cultural heritages in the world, but how many museums, palaces, archaeological sites and libraries are really accessible to everyone? Only starting next month, for example, it will be possible to use an elevator so that even people with disabilities can visit the Colosseum. “From today,” said Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano at the opening, “the Colosseum is even more of a World Heritage Site, accessible to all up to the third tier, from which you can admire the magnificence of an extraordinary monument, a work of the Romans that has no analogues in the world.”
The Colosseum becomes available
Thus, visitors will no longer need to climb the 100 steps leading to the gallery between levels II and III, but will be able to use the new glass elevator. A mandatory step forward to increase attention to the accessibility of cultural heritage. In 2008, a ministerial commission published Guidelines for overcoming architectural barriers in sites of cultural interest, but much remains to be done to integrate them throughout Italy. According to Istat 2021, Of the 4,292 museums open to the public, two out of three are equipped and organized to accommodate people with reduced mobility., guaranteeing access and use of services in a secure and autonomous manner. However, this happens primarily in large centers and in some regions of the country: the level of availability of culture is not uniform.
Accessibility data for Italian museums
In addition, again, according to the Istat report, “the proportion of designs capable of facilitating the use of visitors with physical disabilities of the cognitive, visual and auditory type is smaller.” Sensory and cognitive impairments require special attention to ensure cultural enjoymentsuch as ink and braille panels, clean fonts that can help people with dyslexia, new technologies, digital support and multimedia materials for people who are deaf or autistic. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in article 27 that “Everyone has the right freely to take part in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific progress and its benefits.” However, this will only happen if accessibility and inclusion are no longer the exception and the news, but become a value for the cultural growth of the entire community. In that sense, the journey has just begun.
Source: Elle