THE ACCESSIBILITY OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES ACCORDING TO

THE “GUIDELINES TO OVERCOME ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS IN

CULTURALHERITAGESITES” OF THE ITALIANMINISTRY OF

CULTURALHERITAGEAND ACTIVITIES

Maria AGOSTIANO

Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities - General Direction for Landscape, Fine Arts, Contemporary

ArchitectureandArt,

viadiSanMichelen.22,00153Rome–Italy,maria.agostiano@beniculturali.it

ABSTRACT

Designing and building a new work of architecture, accessibility is proposed as a requirement that is upstream of

the project idea; we must, in other words, planning without creating barriers. In a historic site, instead, we already

have many physical barriers and it requires various actions to overcome them, even through significant

transformations.

In the case of cultural heritage sites, however, the elements that hinder a disabled person are made in most cases

just from those physico-constructive characteristics of historical buildings that we intend to safeguard and

enhance: monumental staircases, towers, paths and historical pavements, etc. Not to mention those assets where

inaccessibility was the main requirement for their construction: all the defensive structures, fortresses, historic

hilltop towns, etc. Architectural barriers characterize almost all architectural, archeological and landscape

heritage.

To identify and develop concrete tools to enhance the accessibility of cultural heritage in 2007, the “Commission

for the analysis of problems relating to disability in the field of cultural heritage and activities” was set up by the

CabinetoftheItalianMinisterofCulturalHeritageandActivities

Among its various initiatives, the Commission drafted the “Guidelines to overcome architectural barriers in

cultural heritage sites” in order to tackle the technical and design aspects of the issue in question emphasising

howaccessibilityproblemsarepartofthewiderandmorecomplexfieldofcompatibleconservationandcollettive

enjoyment of cultural heritage. In many cases, in fact, simple measures in the design phase, or the provision of

adequate services, are sufficient, to improve considerably the usability of a cultural site or, at least, of some parts

ofit.

ThefollowingconsiderationsareinspireddirectlybythetextoftheGuidelines.

Parolechiave/Key-words: accessibility,architecturalbarriers,guidelines,disabledpersons,information.