Italy

By Lynn Atkinson

"The hardest decision you’ll have to make each day is what flavour of ice cream to have," said the stewardess when I landed in the Rome airport for a month’s vacation this spring. "They’re all sinfully rich and creamy."

I hated to disagree with her lighthearted remark, but as a person with multiple sclerosis who uses a wheelchair, I had just spent a year planning a trip that for others was just a few phone calls to the travel agent.

With no information on accessibility available from local travel agents, and no travel companion, at times the possibility of making the trip had seemed remote. Italy could have been as far away as Tibet! And just as expensive -- I realized that anybody I found willing to accompany me could not be expected to push me around cities, lift me on and off trains and carry me up and down stairs without some form of compensation.

If I was to go, it had to be spring or fall, as Italy in summer is insufferably hot. After a frustrating year of planning, I found Janis and Jennifer. None of us had met, but we decided to do it. Thankfully, my parents agreed to help with finances. The next day I booked our flight to Rome, with a two-week stay in Florence and a few days in Venice.

Is Italy feasible for someone using a wheelchair? It’s difficult but, yes, it’s an experience not to be missed.

Take a Renaissance art history course before you go. For the first-time visitor, however, beware the well-documented "Stendhal Syndrome," the dizziness and palpitations of the heart that result from aesthetic overload. The art in Italy, especially in Florence, is overwhelming. After viewing countless crucifixions and annunciations, no matter how glorious, one’s eyes start to glaze over. One antidote that always worked for me was the Italian ice cream, or gelato. It’s almost as wonderful as the art! The best gelaterie is Vivoli’s, near Santa Croce. (Note: Before you choose, check out the banana flavour. If it’s bright yellow, the gelato has been made from a mix. In a true Florentine gelaterie, the banana ice cream is slightly off-grey, indicating only real bananas are used.)

I found that Italians were all very helpful, considering that their cities are besieged every summer by tourist hordes. They carried me up and down stairs and on and off planes and trains, answering my "molte grazie" with a cheerful "prego." Although there is a great need for improved accessibility, the Italians have at least produced access guides for Florence and Venice and some information on Rome; however, you must be prepared for some compromising situations.

It is important that your travel companion be energetic. Pushing a wheelchair over the rough cobblestones of Florence and Rome can be taxing. Even with good shock-absorbent seating and a seat belt, after a day spent rattling along the two- to two-and-a-half-foot-wide sidewalks and narrow roads with cars and scooters hurtling by I was often glad to get back to the hotel. For a smoother ride I found that eight-inch pneumatic castors work better than smaller wheels that catch on everything. It is also a good idea either to install tubeless 24-inch wheels or, if you have pneumatic tires, take along a spare inner tube in case of punctures. On the plus side, Florence is very compact and few sights lie out of walking range.
At Rome airport, we disembarked from the plane using an ingenious stair-climbing device and boarded the local train, which has level entrance, to the main train station. From there, a regular taxi took us to our bed and breakfast.

Rome is an eclectic mixture of great, hulking ruins set amongst modern buildings. Although we were there only a few days, we managed to see St. Peter’s Cathedral, Michelangelo’s "Pieta" and the Vatican museums. Despite all the steps in front, St. Peter’s is accessible, through the side entrance. The tourist information booth in St. Peter’s Square has a list of recommended accessible tours of the Vatican museums, including the location of an accessible toilet. The entrance to the museums is ramped and there is a stair lift to the Sistine Chapel.

Although the YWCA where we stayed in Rome was reasonably priced, it unfortunately had a tiny, typically Italian elevator, big enough for only one person and accessible to a wheelchair only with footrests removed and a chair-narrowing device such as Reduce-A-Width from Everest & Jennings. As I didn’t have such a device, going up to our room in Rome meant standing in the elevator, clinging to Janis and praying my legs would support me, while Jennifer ran up the stairs with my wheelchair to meet the elevator on the second floor.

Catching a train in Italy is relatively easy and vastly entertaining. It seemed that everything the Italians did, they did together. It takes five men at Rome’s train station to position the "ascensore" (lift) which raises the wheelchair to train level: Two men direct, one supervises and the other two do all the work. It is advisable to book the lift at least 24 hours in advance.

Every train we took with our first-class tickets seemed to differ -- some with aisles wide enough for a wheelchair, and others with only compartments which necessitated some rather undignified "manhandling" to get seated.

We arrived in Florence feeling like royalty as the scene in Rome repeated itself, everybody watching as we disembarked. On arrival at the hotel we were abruptly brought back down to earth when I found that I couldn’t get my wheelchair through the bathroom door. My travel agent had failed to give me the measurements that the hotel had faxed. Remember, have your travel agent obtain measurements for all doorways, including the width of the elevator with the door open!

Finally, after every bathroom foot in the hotel was measured, we found a more expensive, three-room apartment. Although its bathroom was not accessible, I settled for the inconvenience because of its cooking facilities. Eating out in Florence can be expensive.

While in Florence I had a chance to check out personally two hotels listed in the Florence guidebook for travellers using wheelchairs, recently published by Delagazione Toscana e Commune di Firenze and available from the tourist information office. The book also lists churches, cinemas, some galleries and museums, and restaurants. I used this guide in conjunction with the British Access Guide to Rome and Florence, published by Project Phoenix Trust.

Hotel Liana is very central, about a 20-minute walk from the Duomo, and has a street-level entrance with one adapted room for four on the ground floor, with an adjacent bathroom. There is a wheel-in shower and raised toilet, although no grab bar. There is parking and a garden in the back. Rates are average for Florence -- 130,000 lire (double), approximately $115, per night.

Hotel Aldini overlooks the Duomo and has a very nice, English-speaking proprietor. It is a newly renovated hotel with wonderful washrooms -- wheel-in showers, raised toilet and grab bars. Unfortunately, the elevator to the hotel, which has three steps, is very tiny and only usable with removable footrests and the chair-narrowing device mentioned earlier. I managed to get into the elevator with my chair, which is 24 inches wide, only to find I couldn’t make a right-angle turn to get out. However, there is a bell at street level and the proprietor will come down and help. With a bit of manoeuvring, it’s possible. Rates are 150,000 lire (double), approximately $131, per night. Note: This hotel is rated highly by Let’s Go: Italy.

Of the two hotels, Hotel Liana is furthest away from the city-centre traffic, and may be quieter. However, it is impossible to escape the aptly named Italian scooter, the vespa, which means "wasp." Everyone drives it at high speed, the angry buzz reverberating against the stone walls of the city long after it has whizzed past in a cloud of exhaust.

If you get the Florence guidebook, beware. One of the hotels I checked that was listed as accessible in the guidebook had 22 steps up to the elevator! Also note: When the Italians say there are "two stairs," they may mean two flights of stairs!

We spent over two weeks in Florence, and every place where we encountered stairs there were always staff willing to carry me up, although at the Pitti Palace I noticed the conversation became a little strained after the fourth flight. Even women ticket takers at the Carmine Church willingly helped to carry me up to see the powerful frescos of 15th century Renaissance artist Massacio. However, you may have to resign yourself to missing some attractions which are quite inaccessible, such as the Medici Chapel Museum, which houses some of Michelangelo’s sculptures.

Florence is exciting, dirty (Italian dogs don’t worry about finding a tree because there are none) and medieval. Florence is grey stone splashed here and there with red geraniums trailing from window boxes and the occasional tree caught soaring above the stone. It is a city of enclosure, where passersby can catch only a glimpse of the pink azaleas and palm trees blooming in private courtyards behind the walls.

Winding your way through narrow grey stone streets and coming suddenly upon the monumental sugar cake of pink, green and white marble that is the Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, is always breathtaking. Crowned by Brunelleschi’s monumental red dome, the cupola is the most characteristic feature of the Florentine skyline and one that I never tired of looking at.

When the noise and pollution of Florence become too much, take an (expensive) 15-minute taxi ride into the hills behind the city, to Fiesole. Smell the acacia trees, see the purple iris and red poppies on the hillside, and bask in the sun beside ancient Etruscan ruins. The entrance has many stairs, but just ask and the old Italian caretaker will let you in through the side gates.

From Florence we went on to Venice to spend three days, wondering how we would manage with all its bridges. Getting off the train in Venice and joining the throngs of tourists in St. Mark’s Square, we were met with the sounds of bird calls, water lapping in the canals, and the quiet purr of motor boats replacing the noisy vespas.

Much to my surprise, my fears about accessibility were largely unfounded. Tourist Information supplied us with the very detailed map guide Veneziapertutti ("Venice for all"), published as a project of the city of Venice, which lists accessible hotels and outlines routes whereby a person in a wheelchair can see a great deal without having to cross a single bridge! As we were only there three days, I wasn’t able to get a full picture, although we certainly saw a lot without having to cross any bridges. I also found the vaporetti, which are the water buses between the islands, very accessible.

According to the map, which requires some interpretation, 42 per cent of the buildings that are of "historic-artistic" interest are accessible. Accessible islands are marked in yellow, as are hotels. The Venice University of Architecture has defined "priority islands" and is working towards building retractable ramps between them. I was also told that some bridges have lifts.

We found it best to get away from the tourist throngs in St. Mark’s Square and spent two wonderful days roaming around our little island in the Dorsoduro area. Our hotel was not ideal from an access point of view, but when your room window overlooks the canal and campari with soda is served on the terrace, one is inclined to be forgiving. Venice is sublime, a soothing mixture of toffee- and red-ochre-coloured buildings, with tree-ringed squares and quiet canals. Best of all, the "roads" were empty of cars. However, be careful of backing up to get a better view; you could end up in the canal!

(Lynn Atkinson publishes a supplement for travellers with disabilities in the newsletter Connecting, available for $20/six issues, payable to Lynn at: 32-1675 Cypress St., Vancouver, BC, V6J 3L4.)