Design for all strategies for the Palermo's Arab and Norman UNESCO itinerary

Abstract

Sicily, with its seven sites recognized by UNESCO, is the Italian region that can boast the highest number of them: the last elected is Palermo, which since 2015 is also part of the prestigious World Heritage List. The Palermo itinerary unfolds through eight stages: Royal Palace, Palatine Chapel, Churches of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Martorana, San Cataldo, Cathedral, Zisa Castle, Bridge of mmiraglio to which the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale. However, Palermo has critical issues that make the tourist route difficult and uncomfortable, not easily accessible due to the limited physical connections that make it difficult for both citizens and tourists with disabilities to move from one monument to another one. Communication and easy accessibility become design priorities, as well as the safety of use in the intricate maze of narrows and winding alleys often with stairs or steep slopes of the historic tissue, with discontinuous stony paving creating architectural barriers. The theme could be extended to many other parts of the historic center and to the expanded use of all the city monuments: Palermo, as a Mediterranean capital, becomes a monument and architecture of itself, experienced most of the year on the street and in the pedestrian paths. This study aims to address the issue of accessibility for different users, with particular attention to the fragile ones and different ways of traveling (on foot, by bike, in a wheelchair, etc.), extended to the analysis of the historic city center and with particular attention to the Arab and Norman itinerary.