One person's Instagram dream is another's mobility nightmare according to a recent CNN article, which reveals that Venice is set to become more accessible for wheelchair-bound and blind visitors.
The project will cost €900 000 (R15,9m) and will be the first time the lagoon city permanently accommodates disabled visitors.
In 2016, two enterprising gondoliers created a wheelchair-accessible gondola at their own expense. However, the Gondolas4all project is currently not operating due to lack of funding.
Francesca Zaccariotto, Councillor for public works, said the plan had been expanded to include facilitating travel for blind people. "We are doing interventions on bridges, making steps easier to climb, and adding non-slippery surfaces that make everything more navigable," she said.
Five bridges will be equipped with ramps in the first stage of the project. The Ponte de la Croze, near Piazzale Roma, will link up with other bridges that already have ramps, allowing step-free access through the Santa Croce and San Polo areas to the vaporetto stop of San Toma.
From there, the vaporetto across the Grand Canal (free for wheelchair users) leads to San Samuele, where the route continues across the Ponte dei Frati, connecting Santo Stefano and Sant'Angelo. It then continues past the Fenice opera house to St Mark's.
Steps leading from the Campo della Misericordia to the Fondamenta della Misericordia will also get a ramp. There will be another on Giudecca island, just off the Palanca vaporetto stop.
