On Wednesday, December 3rd, the official date of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze will welcome the public with two events dedicated to sensory accessibility: a tactile tour for the blind and visually impaired at 3:00 pm, and a sign language tour for the deaf at 5:00 pm. These activities are part of the project The Eternal Contemporary. Michelangelo 1475–2025, with which the museum celebrates the 550th anniversary of the birth of master Michelangelo Buonarroti. They reflect the intense work conducted by the Educational and Accessibility Services in collaboration with the National Institute for the Deaf – Provincial Section of Florence, the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired – Florence, and Stazione Utopia.

Tactile and LIS tours are free and require reservations. The tours are for a maximum of 8 people (4 blind/visually impaired visitors + a companion) for tactile tours and 10 people for LIS tours. For information and reservations: edu@stazioneutopia.com.

The final tactile tour of the autumn series will take place on Thursday, December 11th at 4:00 PM: Exploring Form Immersed in Marble. The Awakening Prison, dedicated to Michelangelo’s sculpture. This is a valuable opportunity to explore, through contact and the guidance of expert guides, the poetics of the “unfinished” that characterized the great artist.

At the Museo Nazionale del Bargello on Thursday, December 4th, and Friday, December 19th, the museum is offering two free tactile tours for the blind, both at 10:00 a.m. Led by a specialized guide, these tours will immerse participants in the history of the ancient palace and allow them to explore the artworks through materials and shapes, in a multisensory experience designed for small groups and made possible thanks to the collaboration of guides.

Tours are free and require reservations. Tours are for up to 6 people (3 blind/visually impaired visitors + one companion). For information and reservations, please contact ga-afi-mn-bar.didattica@cultura.gov.it.

Completing the offering is a new tactile brochure dedicated to the Salone di Donatello: a tool designed to improve the experience for blind and visually impaired visitors, with introductory maps, raised illustrations, descriptive texts, and Braille transcriptions. This represents a further step in the renovation of the Salone’s exhibition layout, where each caption is now linked to multimedia content accessible via QR Code.

Finally, the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze will offer three LIS guided tours of Luigi Pampaloni’s exhibition Venus Entering the Sea. a new acquisition for the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze. The tours will be on December 19th at 5:00 PM, Wednesday, January 14th, and Wednesday, February 28th, each at 5:00 PM.