A "Best Practice" for Inclusive Art Cities: The Case Study of the I-Access Project.

The essay aims to illustrate the results of the I-Access Interreg Italia-Malta 2016-20 project, carried out by a partnership led by the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo with the scientific coordination of Renata Prescia. The project involved the Vucciria district in Palermo and the Bijcceria district in Valletta. Within the framework of the products created (database, web platform, mobile apps, protocol, etc.), we would like to explain in this paper the measures taken to facilitate physical and cultural accessibility from the integrated point of view of restoration and exhibition design, that is, in particular measures to overcome architectural barriers, measures for cultural dissemination and measures of a museographic-communicative nature, including re-evocations of lost or dislocated monuments and artistic works. The proposal is designed as a method for historic urban areas that have similar problems to the district under study. The Vucciria, for example, despite its high density of monuments, has a low quality of life because many of its monuments, especially churches, are closed and therefore unusable and because there is little motivation for local people to engage with these monuments, partly because it is an evolving community. The proposal, therefore, provides for concrete actions to restore the memory of the inhabitants and to re-establish an identity bond with the context, with concrete implications for attracting widespread tourism to provide opportunities for renewal for the district. Project proposals included the installation of three urban totems, ten tactile maps associated with as many churches, and the design of two new access ramps to two churches. By being realized as smart additions in a contemporary and stimulating way compared to the interventions characterized by a solipsistic retour au passè and previously carried out in accordance with the philosophy of the current urban plan, they also become an educational opportunity for a dialoguing community.