Il progetto I-Access: implementare l'accessibilità nell'uso e nella conoscenza dei centri storici urbani

Abstract

This paper describes the INTERREG Italy-Malta 1/16 project, of which the Department of Architecture was the beneficiary. The proposal, in the disciplinary field of restoration, aims to create action-learning to be applied in the historic quarters of Palermo and Valletta by implementing an integrated, totally, interdisciplinary working method; it embraces the degree of physical accessibility (with the design of architectural interventions and the provision of technological-IT assistance tools for a smoother passage), and a cultural one, which is expressed via the 'networking' of virtual communication for areas that cannot be easily reached and in parallel educational action that works on overcoming mental barriers. The project will lead to actions and products embracing architecture and technological innovation, constantly verified with associations for the disabled and cultural associations active in the local area, in order to best achieve democratic, conscious and shared objectives. The areas of intervention unfold along itineraries in Palermo among the churches of the Vucciria and in La Valletta around monuments representative of its identity, specifically its churches and the area around the old slaughter-house of Biċċerija or the Auberge d’Italie.