Cultural and Landscapes Heritages: Mobility, Fruition and Accessibility for all

Abstract

At such a delicate historical moment, in which the pandemic health emergency has reduced the mobility of citizens, a new resilient culture is affirming its capacity to encourage and guarantee the use of cultural and landscape assets for all. This study analyzes some international and national experiences that have already been implemented, or are at an advanced planning stage, which point to a new way of understanding the accessibility of places by users with specific needs and permits their visitation which was previously impossible. Our discussion will deal with Agrigento in particular: the city itself, the Valley of the Temples, its historical center and all the naturalistic treasures of its hinterland. Though the area has been struggling almost permanently with a serious socio-economic crisis for decades, it is an increasingly interesting destination for travelers, even in the new mode of experiential tourism. In this context, despite efforts being made to create routes and systems to ensure the cultural heritage is utilized, in particular between the Valley of the Temples and the urban center, issues of accessibility and inclusiveness remain unresolved. Unfortunately, at these latitudes, the gap between Italian legislation on the subject and its practical impact is still enormous and in some ways insurmountable. Only a reversal of trend, primarily at the cultural level, will allow us to transform long-standing weaknesses into new and interesting strengths, while ensuring both accessibility, and a resultant increase in tourism, as well as the improvement of urban mobility for all.