Rome via Brooklyn

I wanted to dedicate a blog post to the amount of accessibility afforded to people with disabilities in the city of Rome. It’s truly amazing to see because we don’t have nearly enough accommodations for people who are, deaf, blind, in wheelchairs or have other mobility issues in New York City. That being said, as someone who is ignorant to the struggles of disabled people I can not fully claim to know how or how not accessible the city of Rome is to those who struggle to operate in a world dictated by able bodied people.

I began to notice it right as we stepped off the train into Rome. In the train stations and on some of the streets around Rome I noticed  rubber tactile paving on the floor to help guide people who are blind. If someone is blind and has a mobility cane, a stick they roll along the ground to not bump into objects, they are able to run it along that tactile paving to lead them the right way to where they need to go. 

At two of the first few museums we went to I also noticed they had accessibility for the blind and hearing impaired. Right at the beginning of the museum and throughout exhibits were screens displaying someone doing Italian sign language and subtitles at the bottom so that people who are hard of hearing can easily get the information they need. 

At many museums we’ve visited through Rome they will often have tactile images or displays of the exhibits or statues as a way for those who are blind to be able to feel what they are seeing. They will often be accompanied by braille describing what it is they are feeling. I noticed two examples of this at the Museum of the Imperial Forum. Below is an image of sofa and paola touching a 3D tactile display of the imperial forum, and below that is an image of fannie touching tactile image.

With all that being said these accommodations are very nice to see but i can still see how it is very much a struggle for those who are not able bodied to get around the city of Rome and experience its wonders. Unfortunately the city is very old so the streets are often very narrow and made of cobble stone, this makes it incredibly difficult for those who are blind and in wheel chairs to get around the city. This leaves those who are disabled to have to use the more modern streets to get around. The problem with this is it’s often very crowded and very touristy. The trams around the city do have ramps so they are technical wheel chair accessible but there are often crowd making it virtually impossible for those in wheel chair to use the tran during busy hours.

But how can accessibility be improved in the city of Rome? According to one article by the finestresullarte in 2025, Italy has four major ways they will be improving accessibility in cultural venues “the Ministry of Culture was allocated 300 million euros … The first is interventions for removing physical and cognitive barriers … The second is the Drafting of Plans for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers (P.E.B.A.) … The third part is the implementation of the AD Arte platform, a national platform for accessibility services in cultural places … the last part is the training of cultural workers” This funding will help Italy and the city of Rome become even more accessible to those who are disabled.

sources 

• (2025, July 21). Barrier-free culture: Italy’s plan for accessibility in cultural venues [Review of Barrier-free culture: Italy’s plan for accessibility in cultural venues]. Finestresullarte. https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/news-focus/barrier-free-culture-italy-s-plan-for-accessibility-in-cultural-venues