The Accessibility of the garden of Villa della Regina in Turin as an opportunity for valorization

The objective of the research was testing the principles of accessibility to historic gardens for achieving accessibility in the three spheres: physical, communicative and experiential. The methodology adopted calls for the analysis of the cultural context related to the relationship between conservation and accessibility, taking the principles of "Design for all" and the study of the laws for the Disability and Cultural Heritage. The specific nature of the case required the knowledge of both the specificity of the historic garden and its conservation, and the characteristics of the garden of Villa della Regina in its various components. The work was shared in the different stages of definition with the stakeholders who have assessed and found weaknesses and strengths. The project has undergone revisions and adjustments. The aids making for the visit are modified so as to provide greater opportunity for inclusion of the public. A first result was the creation of aids to the visit -models, drawings and texts and words- useful to visit multisensory available on site and a part of us are usable for communication pre-visit

Le grandi sfide europee e il giardino storico come “eredità culturale”

This paper aims to address the issue of accessibility and inclusion of the cultural heritage in the specific field of historic gardens. The indications of the Council of Europe and the framework convention on the value of cultural heritage for society, known as the Faro Convention, are the prerequisites to start a process of modification of the consolidated approach to heritage and the promotion of inclusion policies related to cultural heritage by widening the actors involved. «The need to put the individual and human values at the center of a broadened and interdisciplinary idea of cultural heritage» and «the right to participate in cultural life, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights» are the contemporary reference from which to start a review of the ways of intervention also in the specific field of historic gardens. In the Italian context, this approach is part of the new meaning given to restoration which, according to the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, includes both conservation and enhancement operations.

Contents accessibility in archaeological museums and sites: a proposal for a neuropsychological approach

With specific reference to the issue of accessibility to cultural content and the inclusion of different audiences, the Authors point out an overview where museums usually tend to create educational activities and support assistive devices dedicated to specific audiences, rather than integrated solutions, that can “be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible”, as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). Based on previous studies on cultural accessibility and emotional appropriation, the Authors have recently carried out a survey focused on archaeological museums audiences, considering their expectations, their reactions, and their prejudices. At the same time, they have conducted an extensive series of online interviews with Curators and Directors of many archaeological museums and sites in Europe and worldwide, including some in-depth site visits too. The investigations and surveys carried out have strengthened the awareness that museum spaces generate not only cognitive, but also physical and emotional reactions, and that the various publics react to cultural stimuli in very different ways. Therefore, while designing museum communication, a disciplinary contamination involving the field of neuropsychology is needed. By illustrating the current research and describing a series of examples, the paper aims at highlighting how the “design for all” in museums is a field in continuous development

Discovering, preserving and communicating the past. Synergies and divergences between archaeology, restoration and museography to make the legacy from the past accessible to all

The paper aims to investigate the overlapping, collaborative and even contrasting characteristics among the three different disciplines: Archaeology, Restoration and Museography. As archaeologists share the view that the public's "enjoyment" of the archaeological heritage in situ could jeopardize its integrity, paradoxically the surest way to preserve an archaeological site is by backfilling. The only architectural intervention in an archaeological site is to introduce a protective element, but this often distorts its identity: therefore, the possible compromise for a "direct" fruition of an archaeological site is its restoration, although it has been intended in different ways over time. The past must be preserved and protected keeping in mind the centrality of people (to whom the preservation of the past is addressed) too often forgotten or postponed due to other urgencies. It should also be underlined that conveying these often fragile remains to the future depends on their acknowledgement as elements of cultural identity. In recent decades, however, new ways of intervening have emerged, in order to preserve but also to communicate in the best possible way the cultural significant and contents of the archaeological heritage, making them truly “accessible” and dialoguing with the city and with the present. The paper cites some significant case studies to investigate the potential of a real disciplinary contamination between the three above mentioned fields

Neurosciences and museum - Museum visit as inclusive, embodied and transformative experience

Following their previous writings and research works, Authors describe very recent experimentations at Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia (Rome) devoted to study the visitors’ behavour and to verify the effectiveness of inclusive and multisensorial communication.Starting from the assumption that access and accessibility to Cultural Heritage are not simply intended as physical approach, and they happen when individuals “appropriate” and “transform” cultural contents, this paper shortly discusses the “Emotion Museology” principles, according to which what moved visitors will be particularly remembered by them, processed and transformed, becoming a very personal asset.Emotions, although difficult to define, are an important element in cognitive processes and are inclusive, as each visitor can empathise with objects and stories. The innovative experiment described by Authors has been conducted in a museum environment with the aid of techniques for detecting the neurophysiological factors of visitors during a visit: a number of experiments have been carried out in recent years on perception mechanisms of a neuro aesthetic nature, but not to indagate the spatial cognition and the role of “atmospherical” conditions.Searching for what all audiences have in common, and not what divides and differentiates them, emotions answer to objects, spaces and communicative stimuli proposed by museums (captions, context, relations). Conversely, differences have also to be considered and “celebrated” as a humanity’s treasure. Then, emotional stimuli can originate very different responses, assuring intimate and individual appropriation processes. From this point of view, the research team aims to relate unconscious responses with cognitive processing of contents: pre visit expectations and “bias” and post visit feedback can support an integrate interpretation of data.In this perspective, and following the seven “Design for All” principles, can be updated referring to cultural accessibility and inclusion, overcoming and abandoning the unrealistic goal of guaranteeing the same experience for different publics, but rather aiming to ensure a fulfilling, lasting and transformative experience for all

Technology as a tool to study visitor behaviour in museums: positioning and neuropsychological detection to identify physical & cognitive barriers

Inclusive communication projects in museums and cultural sites often start from generically applicable assumptions referring to the principles of accessible and inclusive design, without considering the peculiarities of a cultural experience. It therefore seems important to study the audiences’ behaviour in museums, with particular attention to the different types of visitors: regular audiences with appropriate backgrounds; occasional audiences with very different backgrounds; and disaffected audiences who do not consider cultural experiences important or rewarding. It is precisely the latter that an inclusive design must carefully target, with the aim of understanding the reason for this exclusion and thus overcoming it, hence it is important that such studies do not observe only the first two types of audience, whereas this is often the case. In this context, precise positioning is mandatory: in case of museums, it is necessary to determine users’ location at every epoch, with high sampling rate, to monitor movements, times and stops of the public within the museum, in relation to the exhibits, the spatial features of the rooms, and the communication and display solutions, relating them to information resulting from ad hoc surveys. From the positioning point of view, one of the main problems is represented in tracking people in indoor environments, where the GNSS is not available, and there are often cramped spaces. Besides, if the number of people to be tracked is high, the level of difficulties increases dramatically. The problem of positioning even large numbers of people within closed and delimited spaces presents some difficulties and technical criticalities. On the other hand, the restitution of such data requires accentuated reliability: the behaviour and reactions recorded in the public during the experiment must be related to precise spatial positions, since the emotional responses of the public can vary in a very short time. At present, the research group is studying and implementing new technologies available in mobile devices, such as Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology, to study individual visiting experiences. The technological challenge in these contexts goes beyond mere technical effectiveness. Indeed, the instrumentation required to track individual visitors, in certain solutions, risks influencing people’s behaviour because it is moderately ostrusive: conversely, the challenge at present is to integrate the various sensing devices into compact and unobtrusive soluti- ons. The Authors have implemented a Python code on a portable Raspberry device that guarantees the users’ location by exploiting signals coming from beacon devices. Communication systems between the device detecting neurophysiological reactions and monitoring physical movements can be implemented and optimised, fusing this technology with another one related to positioning purposes, exploiting electromagnetic signals such as ultra-wide-band technologies or Bluetooth, which guarantees the possibility of reaching positioning solutions even in indoor environments without afflicting the signals for neurophysiological parameter estimations

Dalla città al museo attraverso un’esperienza inclusiva

Starting from the assumption that every difficulty can turn into a design opportunity, the paper focuses on the importance of education in such a way that the professionals of the future will be able to properly address the issue of accessibility. In this context, edu- cation is intended, above all, as a work of awareness-raising. Identification is the most effective aspect of awareness-raising, and the authors present their experimental method based on the importance of experience. By emphasizing the fact that for cultural sites accessibility is generated via a welcoming attitude, it ought to be acknowledged that this approach originates in the city itself and should be offered as a system. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate the attitude, availability and competence of the staff dealing with cultural heritage, as well as the experience of the visit as a whole. However, in order to fully assess the welcoming approach, consideration needs to be given to the urban system, as well as the means of transport, services, information on the web. In conclusion, after carrying out actual simulations on-site with the students, the Authors believe that it is not so much compliance with regulations (although necessary) but, rather, project sensitivity that can really make the difference in terms of accessibility

Accessibilità, partecipazione e inclusione per la trasmissione dei valori del Patrimonio Mondiale

The cultural pluralism that the UNESCO World Heritage List aims to represent requires a constant adaptation of approaches and methods of implementation in relation to global strategies and contemporary challenges. The broadening of the 'cultural significance' of heritage and the relationship between it and the variety of people who relate and identify with it make it crucial to implement participatory processes aimed at accessibility and inclusion. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen the capacity for interpretation, presentation and communication for society's knowledge of the values of heritage. Including some relevant case studies referring to museums and the archaeological heritage, the contribution aims to illustrate the processes of interpretation, presentation and communication of values and meanings that, according to the 1972 Convention, represent a means to "improve public appreciation and understanding of cultural heritage sites"

L'ex mattatoio di Chieri (Torino): patrimonio archeologico industriale. Dalla rifunzionalizzazione ala valorizzazione della memoria. The formers laughterhouse of Chieri (Turin): an Industrial Heritage. From functional conversion to memory recovery.

The slaughterhouse of Chieri was built at the end of the nineteenth century in response to public health demands for relocating slaughter activities outside the city centre. Up until 1997, the structure maintained its functions and spatial features. After the termination of all activities, however, it remained unused. In 2009 the municipality started the conversion process of the building to turn it into a space intended to accommodate voluntary and non-profit organizations (“Cittadella del Volontariato”). Currently the structure is partially re-used thus providing the opportunity to analyze planning and design issues concerning the architectural renewal, with a focus on its urban and social impact. The building’s architectural features offer the opportunity to conceive sustainable solutions both from a technological and a cultural point of view. Since the project has a definite social mission and strong bonds with the urban context and the community, it seems necessary to improve both physical and ideal relationships by involving a varied range of competencies. Inclusive projects may represent a solution to the insufficient exploitation of the ex-slaughterhouse’s cultural value. Thanks to these projects, the cultural heritage can take on a social role and become an essential resource for a sustainable development