INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
On the occasion of the International Day of People with Disabilities, the Galleria Borghese has organised three dedicated initiatives on November 27th, December 3rd and December 4th.
For several years now, the museum has been running a wide-ranging accessibility programme that aims to actively involve people with different disabilities and fragilities, who collaborate with the museum in designing projects that include the plurality of the publics. An accessibility that does not “separate” the fragile, but creates relationships and promotes stimulating emotional dialogue, contributing to the breaking down of prejudices. These are projects that continue over time, offering the chance to experience a welcoming museum with extraordinary stories to tell, and one of the most important art collections in the world.
Some of these initiatives have been programmed around the International Day of the Rights of People with Disabilities, demonstrating how art at the Galleria Borghese is a means of support throughout the year, with the museum open to the community that becomes a space for aggregation and socialization, for a culture that is increasingly inclusive and accessible to all.
The following are the initiatives:
On Saturday November 27th at 10.30 am, Tutti insieme nel nome di Scipione Borghese – arte, natura e architettura (All together in the name of Scipione Borghese – art, nature and architecture) will be an itinerary in the Villa dedicated to the personality of the Cardinal, nephew of Pope Paul V, which the Museum periodically proposes as an opportunity for the public to meet, participate and exchange, to enhance the common cultural heritage and promote a sensitive view of diversity.
Stefania Vannini, the Galleria Borghese accessibility manager, and the visually impaired sculptor and teacher Lucilla D’Antilio will accompany a group of seeing and visually impaired people together to discover a tactile path outside the Casino Nobile Borghese, recounting the history of the places and the passions of Scipione Borghese, reconstructed also thanks to archival material and the testimony of travellers of the time.
The meeting point is on the square in front of the Galleria Borghese next to the tactile map.
For bookings and information (the initiative is free of charge): ga-bor.accessibilita@beniculturali.it
Friday December 3rd, International Day of the Rights of People with Disabilities, VAMI Roma, Volontari Associati per i Musei Italiani, is organising free guided tours of the museum with tactile paths for visually impaired people.
Reservations required: tel 06 85357564 (Tuesday to Friday 9 am – 1 pm).
On Saturday December 4th at 11 am there will be themed tours inside the Galleria Borghese for hearing and hearing impaired visitors together Storie del Cardinal Scipione e di Casa Borghese with the aim of creating, through art, moments of socialisation and cultural growth for different audiences and contributing to the breaking down of prejudice towards disabilities.
The guided tours, which will continue on a monthly basis, in two languages – Italian and Italian Sign Language (LIS) – are co-designed and conducted by Stefania Vannini, the museum’s accessibility manager, and the deaf tour guide Violante Nonno.
For bookings and information: ga-bor.accessibilita@beniculturali.it
In addition, in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health of ASL Roma 1, with which a convention was recently established, the Galleria Borghese will host a group of people with mental distress, involved in a permanent training activity on the history of the Borghese collection entitled SPIRAGLI. Percorsi di salute mentale nella Galleria Borghese, with the aim of becoming cultural mediators themselves on special days in which they will engage in autobiographical narratives in direct contact with the works of art and in relation to the regular public.