Unleash the emotions of an accessible Piedmont! Discover the beauty of a timeless and barrier-free road along the Via Francigena For All and find landscapes and outdoor activities, taste and history of an entire territory.
With the Via Francigena For All project, we have made 2 stages of the Piedmontese Via Francigena as accessible as possible to people with physical-motor, cognitive-intellectual and sensory disabilities, the elderly and their families with rest areas and multi-sensory panels. One stage along the Canavese Via Francigena, between Ivrea and Viverone, the other in the Susa Valley, between Villar Focchiardo and Avigliana.
We will let you discover 20 Romanesque chapels and other cultural assets accessible to all along the Piedmontese Via Francigena for 365 days a year, thanks to the collaboration with ‘Chiese a porte aperte’, the unique system in Italy of automated booking, opening and narration of cultural sites via smartphone and QR Code. And of course you will be guests of our accommodation facilities for all.
The Project
Via Francigena for all is the result of an in-depth analysis of accessibility by experts from the Italian Alpine Club-CAI and the European Association Vie Francigene - Francigena Service and the digitisation of the routes, now available on OutdoorActive.
In order to make even the most uncomfortable stretches of the route accessible, off-road aids (such as Joëlette) designed to accompany people with reduced motor skills have been purchased, which will be available to tourists upon request to the experts of the Club Alpino Italiano-CAI.
A further step towards accessibility was taken with the creation of three accessible rest areas in the municipalities of Villar Focchiardo, Avigliana and Bollengo. In each of the municipalities crossed, 13 visual-tactile panels were installed, with contents in Braille, for the visually impaired, and QR-codes with the story of the location in Italian, English, French and LIS, for the hearing impaired.
20 new sacred sites have been enhanced and made accessible through the ‘Churches at Open Doors’ App, thanks to which these places can be accessed with an automated opening system. Each site has been the subject of in-depth historical-artistic research, with the editing of texts and storyboards in three languages. Video surveillance, new lighting systems and fittings were implemented, multisensory panels were installed, and audio and video content in sign language was made available, as well as downloadable materials for preparing the visit. Work carried out in cooperation with the Ecclesiastical Region and the Consulta per i Beni Culturali e l'Edilizia di Culto del Piemonte e Valle d'Aosta.
Highlights include: the Crypt of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Cathedral with McCarthy's Tomb and the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino in Ivrea; the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Bollengo, the Church of San Rocco in Montalto Dora and many other churches and chapels located along the route in the Morainic-Canavese and Susa Valley areas, guaranteeing a complete and inclusive visiting experience.