A rare and profoundly symbolic experience: being able to "see" art with your hands. The Sansevero Chapel Museum in Naples is exceptionally opening its doors to blind and visually impaired visitors with a special tactile tour scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, entitled "Wonder at Your Fingertips."
For the occasion, the public will be able to explore through touch some of the most celebrated works housed in the monumental complex, starting with the Veiled Christ, considered one of the absolute masterpieces of sculpture of all time. The tour will also allow visitors to experience up close the marble bas-reliefs of Modesty and Disillusionment, works that symbolize the iconographic system conceived by Prince Raimondo di Sangro.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Sansevero Chapel Museum and the Naples branch of the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired. It was presented by museum president Maria Alessandra Masucci, association president Giuseppe Ambrosino, and tour guide Roberta Meomartini, an expert in designing tactile tours.
The day marks the return of an inclusive experience not offered in over a decade. Organizers explain that the initiative is the result of months of preparation and was born with the goal of making artistic heritage increasingly accessible, adapting visiting methods and tools to the needs of an audience often excluded from directly experiencing the works.
Participants will be welcomed by the museum's education staff with an introduction to the history of the Sansevero Chapel and the figure of Raimondo di Sangro, the brilliant creator of the artistic complex. This will be followed by a guided tactile exploration of the works, led by specially trained blind guides from the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
To allow for the experience, the fence that normally protects the Veiled Christ will be exceptionally removed. Visitors, wearing latex gloves, will be able to directly touch the marble sculpted by Giuseppe Sanmartino, feeling the delicate texture of the famous veil that has made the work famous worldwide. The tour will then continue towards the bas-reliefs at the feet of the statues of Modesty and Disillusionment.
At the end of the tour, guests will be escorted to the sacristy where they will receive a Braille guidebook created by the museum in collaboration with the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired and printed by the Regional Braille Printing House in Catania. The book will subsequently be made available to visually impaired visitors to the chapel.
The initiative is part of a broader museum accessibility program, which in recent years has introduced several inclusive tools, including audio guides for the visually impaired, video tours in sign language for the deaf, and itineraries designed for visitors with intellectual disabilities.
The March 17th tour will be free, open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm, with last admission at 6:30 pm. Reservations are required. Blind or visually impaired visitors may enter with a companion or their guide dog.
It seems to me like a useful and important initiative for blind and visually impaired people, but I don't know if all the works can be touched without damage. I wonder how the blind guides were trained and if the fence will ever be removed. Let's hope it works and that other museums copy it.