While the United States administration is working hard to eliminate any and all efforts to make the world equal for everyone, countries like Italy are getting creative to make it possible for people with visual disabilities enjoy art.

Visit any museum in the world and everything is either roped off or under glass where it can only bee seen but not touched.

Several years ago Aldo and Daniela Grassini have created the Museo Omero in Ancona where the exhibits are designed to be touched and enjoyed.

And the Colosseum in Rome offers visitors with visual disabilities an opportunity to experience the art, architecture, culture, and history of the area.

Guides describe the scenery and the art as visitors tactilely examine the artifacts.

Italy is a treasure trove of art, culture, and history; but it hasn’t always been open to people with disabilities.  But in 2021, taking advantage of pandemic recovery funds from the European Union, Italy began making the country accessible for all.

Unearthed after centuries under a mountain of lava, Pompeii is now a major tourist destination; complete with braille signage, QU code audio guides, and tactile models.

While sites like the Boboli Gardens are not fully accessible due to its historic status; but Florence has produced an accessibility guide, complete with detailed information on routes and requirements for the city’s museums.

According to the World Tourism Organization, “an inclusive tourism model doesn’t just honor the human rights of people with disabilities; it also makes economic sense. Nearly half of the world’s population aged over 60 has a disability, and disabled travelers tend to bring two or more companions.

Radici Association tour guide Giorgio Guardi, “the aim of accessible tourism is to create an experience that is enjoyable for everyone involved, companions included.”  Tours are often organized for after hours visits when there are fewer people and time to explore the exhibits and artworks.

But there are times when the guides have to get creative in order for their visitors to experience the exhibits.  In the Campo dei Fiori piazza is the statue of Giordano Bruno – a 16th-century philosopher who was burned at the stake.  The statue stands to high for a tactile examination.  Giorgio Guardi encouraged the visitors to become Bruno while other members of the group to touch the volunteer Bruno donned in a heavy cloak in order to imagine what it was like to be the philosopher.  A sign language interpreter was also on hand to relay the story of Bruno.

Named for the blind poet Homer, Museo Omers is Italy’s only publicly funded tactile museum and is filled with life-sized replicas of some of Italy’s most famous artworks, from ancient Roman and Greek statues to the head of Michelangelo’s David, as well as contemporary artworks.

Aldo Grannini noted, “touching something isn’t like looking at iti. Not just because of the emotion it offers, but because of the type of knowledge that sensation provides.”

He added, “sight is an overbearing sense that tends to monopolize reality; whereas touch offers a different dimension.  We love with our eyes and with our hands. If we are in love with a person or an object that is particularly dear to us, is it enough to just look at it? No, we need to caress it, because caressing gives you a different emotion.”

Museo Omero also includes works of art by artists who are blind.