For a first orientation we suggest, in piazza Repubblica, the high relief representing the center of Florence, whih makes possible to realize how the city is structured through the touch. A second tactile model is located on the other side of the Arno river at the beginning of Via Guicciardini.
In Florence, people with visual impairments are welcome to many places of interest thanks to special museum sections designed for them! State, Municipal and Science Museums as well as Santa Maria del Fiore Complex offer the opportunity to enjoy the visit touching and experiencing masterpieces through a dedicated path.
National museums Let’s start with the Uffizi Gallery, with its several proposes, among which Uffizi by touch (people have the opportunity to explore ancient sculptures from the Medici's collection). Inside the Pitti Palace, also the Modern Art Gallery is accessible for visually impaired visitors thanks to a tactile tour; in Boboli Garden sometimes olfactory tours are organized.
The Academy Gallery : waiting for the new artistic tactile tour inspired by the shape of Michelangelo’s David and the prisoners, some other works have been reproduced in 3D. At the nearby Archaeological Museum tactile visits are organized on request.
At the Bargello Museum, it is possible for visually impaired to touch sculptures appreciating the shapes of the works; at the Davanzati Palace a canteen have been set up with reproductions of majolica pottery and antique fabrics for the fruition of visually impaired and blind people; Orsanmichele Complex allows a tactile tour to the replicas oft he statues adorning the church. Not to forget the San Marco Museum, with the tactile reproduction of “Annunciazione” by Beato Angelico, and the Villa Corsini al Castello, with ancient Roman statues.
Municipal museums The municipal museums offer both self & guided tours inside Palazzo Vecchio and the Museo Novecento. In the former there is a model of the Palazzo (courtyard of the Dogana) and numerous tactile stations; the latter allows visitors to appreciate reproductions of works by famous artists (Giorgio Morandi, Arturo Martini, Ottone Rosai). In both cases the audio content can be accessed also at the respective links, ‘inclusive museum’ section.
The Duomo Complex has defined TouchAble, a tactile path at the Opera del Duomo Museum: it's a deep and emotional experience enjoyable by all visitors, without sight, for a different approach to art!
Not to miss the initiatives of the Natural History Museums in Florence: the olfactory path at the Botanical Gardens and the tactile tour at Palaeontology sector, which winds through the gallery of the great fossil mammals of Tuscany. At the Galileo Museum, the visit allows to touch original instruments to figure out how did they work. Periodically also the Florentine Institute of Prehistory and the Marino Marini museums organize guided tours for those with visual impairments.
Piazza della Repubblica, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
Piazzale degli Uffizi, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
via Ricasoli, 58/60, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Piazza de' Pitti, 1, 50125 Firenze FI, Italia
Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, 9b, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Via del Proconsolo, 4, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Via Porta Rossa, 13, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
Via dell'Arte della Lana, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
Via della Petraia, 27, 50141 Firenze FI, Italia
Piazza del Duomo, 9, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Via Pier Antonio Micheli, 3, 50121 Firenze FI, Italia
Via Giorgio la Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze FI, Italia
Piazza dei Giudici, 1, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Via dell' Oriuolo, 24, 50122 Firenze FI, Italia
Piazza di S. Pancrazio, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia
