An inclusion and accessibility project for Ca’ Rezzonico – Museo del Settecento veneziano
The major restyling project for Ca’ Rezzonico in 2023 provided the basis for a rethinking of some of the venue’s spaces with a view also to universal accessibility, an integral part of a broader and shared approach to sustainable development. This is a theme that represents not only a far-sighted regulatory approach, but also and above all a method – a ‘good practice’ – with which to orientate oneself in the succession of design, realisation and development phases of a museum itinerary or temporary exhibition, aiming at the most complete integration of the public.
In this context, the Spazio ‘700 – MUVE FOR ALL has been created in the reception area on the ground floor of the museum; a welcoming environment characterised by a playful-educational, accessible and multi-sensorial approach which, through the inclusion of some specially-chosen elements, tools and suggestions, takes the form of a ‘preview’ of the Museo del Settecento veneziano (Museum of Eighteenth-century Venice).
The aim is to facilitate the preparation and unfolding of the visit by the various audiences, who are encouraged to ‘touch’, ‘explore’ and ‘play’ with some of the reproductions of the masterpieces exhibited ‘from life’ on the upper floors.
The proposal, described in greater detail below, is supported by ad-hoc graphic interventions, captions and bilingual Italian/English information, including with AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) pictograms, including a Braille text realised with the technical supervision of ‘UICI – Unione Italiana Ciechi e degli Ipovedenti Onlus APS – Venice section’.
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
A PALACE ON THE GRAND CANAL
Contextualising the place in which he or she finds himself or herself helps the visitor to understand better the city of Venice, and in particular the palace of Ca’ Rezzonico and its position on the Grand Canal, along with its architectural development and its extraordinary decorative apparatus.
The 3D reproduction of the museum at the entrance of the room – measuring approximately a square metre and made of biopolymers – makes an autonomous tactile exploration feasible thanks to the tactile QR code that activates an audio and video description in Italian and English, with subtitles and LIS interpretation. The model is also equipped with captions with highly legible characters, embossed writing and Braille, and Test Me font suitable for dyslexic and visually impaired people.
MASTERS OF FORM
The sculpture of Andrea Brustolon and Antonio Corradini
Two 3D reproductions of the sculptural masterpieces L’allegoria della Purità (o Dama velata) (The Allegory of Purity (or Veiled Lady)) by Antonio Corradini and L’allegoria della luce (The Allegory of Light) by Andrea Brustolon have been placed on the left wall of the room.
The aim of the scans, realised for the first time in one of our museums, was to present some highlights of the museum and at the same time offer different ways of enjoying the exhibited masterpieces, enabling all visitors to make a completely independent tour of the museum.
These reproductions too are provided, by means of QR codes, with audio-video descriptions in Italian and English, subtitles and LIS interpretation, captions with highly legible characters, embossed writing and Braille, as well asTest Me font suitable for dyslexic and visually impaired people.
HOW MANY ANIMALS THERE ARE IN THE MUSEUM!
Look for me… in the rooms
Perhaps not everyone knows that there are many animals at Ca’ Rezzonico… some of them exotic! We can discover them on the walls of the rooms.
This proposal is particularly aimed at our ‘younger’ visitors, who will be able to have fun recognising animals to be found in the museum in an entertaining game of ‘search and find’!
SCENES OF EVERYDAY LIFE
The painting of Pietro Longhi
The memory game involves finding the same pair of images. The activity aims at establishing a closer acquaintance with the paintings by Pietro Longhi, a celebrated eighteenth-century Venetian artist, the collection of whose works – featuring some undisputed masterpieces, from the Rhinoceros to The Moor’s Letter and Morning Chocolate – is one of the museum’s most original and representative. Created on the right wall of the room, in an existing niche – with 10 pairs of figures, for a total of 20 tiles – the game intends to appeal to visitors of all ages, especially families with children, including those with cognitive disabilities, the final aim being to intrigue them sufficiently to observe the actual paintings on display in the museum.
FACES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
The portraits by Rosalba Carriera and Marianna Carlevarijs
Inspired by the Sala dei Pastelli on the first floor of the museum, the activity involves the recomposition of some portraits by Rosalba Carriera and Marianna Carlevarijs on a rotating totem. The aim is to stimulate visitors of all ages, especially families with children, including those with cognitive disabilities, to observe the physiognomic features and facial expressions, typical and indispensable elements of eighteenth-century portraiture.
_
