Tactile tours

A guide experienced in museum accessibility engages students in a sensorial exploration of the spaces and works of the Vittoriano. The tour begins at the Liberty style gateway on Piazza Venezia and continues to the plinth of the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II, discovering the physical characteristics of Botticino marble and the stories portrayed. It then moves on to gain spatial familiarity with Piazzale del Bollettino, circumscribed by the curvilinear form of the Sommoportico and explore the block of stone from Monte Grappa. Typhlo-teaching aids are used along the route.

Vittoriano Palazzo Venezia Ticket Office, entrance at Via del Plebiscito 118

A guide experienced in museum accessibility introduces visitors to Palazzo Venezia in a multisensorial approach. The tour begins in the garden recognising, among the many species, the barbed stems of Japanese palm trees, the sweet fragrance of magnolia flowers and the jagged leaves of acanthus plants. From here, it continues with tactile exploration of the Loggia Grande and the life of the building’s founder, Pope Paul II. It ends indoors where students refine their plantar-tactile sense on floor details, identifying the decorative motifs on the door surrounds and comparing the types, weaves and textures of the various materials employed from the Renaissance to the present day. Typhlo-teaching aids are used along the route.

Palazzo Venezia Palazzo Venezia Ticket Office, entrance at Via del Plebiscito 118

The tour leads to the upper loggia of Pope Paul II’s secret garden and explores the Lapidarium, home to 120 marble works dating from classical times to the Renaissance, some uncovered in the early 20th century in the Piazza Venezia area. Via a tactile experience, the participants learn the history of these marbles – from discovery to their arrival in Palazzo Venezia – their masses and their decorations, in a narration that is both engaging and immersive. Typhlo-teaching aids are used along the route.

Palazzo Venezia Palazzo Venezia Ticket Office, entrance at Via del Plebiscito 118

This tour conveys how Italy became a united and independent nation, and meets its heroes, from Giuseppe Mazzini to Giuseppe Garibaldi, Count  Cavour and Victor Emmanuel II.
A visit to the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento allows students to learn more about this period in Italian history via a tactile experience. Marble busts and bronzes, and listening to sources, tales, anecdotes and pieces of music facilitate a reconstruction of the appearance and dress of the protagonists and indeed the entire context of the period. The tour is led by a guide experienced in museum accessibility and includes the use of typhlo-teaching aids.

Museo Centrale del Risorgimento Palazzo Venezia Ticket Office, entrance at Via del Plebiscito 118