TURISMO SENZA BARRIERE (TOURISM WITHOUT BARRIERS)
On the day we celebrate our American Independence, this is the perfect time to heap praise on a group in Central Italy that is working tirelessly to break down barriers to travel by wheelchair in Tuscany and beyond.
Lamberto Tozzi and others at Turismo Senza Barriere have tips on transportation, accommodations and museums.
They don't just give a vague wheelchair symbol to a place to say it has some level of access.
They actually tell you what is the best route to get to the entrance by wheelchair.
The Pitti Palace, for example, has very steep passageways and more gently-graded routes to its various museums filled with Medici treasures.
Taking the gentler slope can make all the difference in the world in terms of safety and mobility for a wheeler.
The organization helped us find an English-speaking driver with a lift-equipped van to meet us at the tiny Florence airport.
The driver navigated throw Florence's maze of one-way streets and narrow alleys to bring us right to the doorstep of our accessible apartment in the Oltrarno.
This website is entirely in Italian -- but you do plan on brushing up on a little Italiano before traveling to Tuscany, right?
Surely, you don't expect every mom and restaurant and off the beaten path shop to speak perfect English?
You don't want to come off like an Ugly American, so you're at least buying a Rick Steves phrase book, yes?
For what it's worth, Turismo Senza Barriere is in the process of translating its materials to English.
When you contact the group, it does have some brochures and other printed matter in English.
The more you support them, the more they'll be able to deliver their priceless information in multiple languages.
www,turismosenzabarriere.it
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