Improved accessibility to the city's cultural venues, making them more functional for those with objective challenges. This is the goal of the redevelopment project for the Cagliari municipal art gallery , presented today in the presence of Maria Francesca Chiappe, Councilor for Culture, Entertainment, and Tourism , Marta Mereu, President of the Culture Commission , and designer Andrea Vallebona. The project was funded with European Union resources, as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), entitled " Removing physical and cognitive barriers in museums, libraries, and archives to allow broader access to and participation in culture ."
Councilor Maria Francesca Chiappe stated: "The interventions we presented today, implemented thanks to the PNRR and on which our offices have worked to complete well ahead of the deadline set for June 2026, represent an important step towards the accreditation of our Civic Museums with the Regional Museum System. We have improved the physical, sensorial, and digital accessibility of the Gallery , but these are not just technical interventions: they are a way of thinking about the museum, more open, inclusive, and connected to the city ."
To ensure a competent and inclusive welcome, gallery staff participated in a specific training course on museum accessibility, further integrating their existing skills.
EVENTS – To highlight the importance of the project, several events have been organized . On Friday, November 21st, at 3:00 PM, there will be a meeting dedicated to third-sector organizations working on accessibility. The tangible and intangible interventions implemented thanks to the PNRR, which were already illustrated to the associations during the initial phase of the project, will be presented . After a brief institutional introduction, a guided tour of the new spaces will be held, including a demonstration tour . Participants will be able to directly experience the tools designed to improve the visitor experience. This will be followed by a participatory discussion session, during which the associations will be able to express their observations and proposals. At 5:00 PM , a conference will present the project and illustrate the renovations to the facility, with a particular focus on new accessibility and inclusion measures . From 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, guided tours for small groups will be held, accompanied by a musical performance by Nicola Agus, which will enhance the atmosphere of the inauguration. The evening will conclude at 8 pm with a convivial aperitif , an informal moment of meeting and sharing. The program will continue on November 22nd, 23rd, and 25th, when the gallery will offer guided tours, workshops, and experiential itineraries for a variety of audiences , with extended opening hours until 8 pm . The main themes will be art that can be touched and told, Explorers at the Museum, Emotions, Stories, and Sounds .
On November 21st, all admission to the gallery and activities will be free . On November 22nd, 23rd, and 25th, admission to the municipal art gallery will cost €3 , a guided tour €3 , and participation in the workshops €6 . Free admission for people with disabilities and their companions, and for children up to 6 years old.
THE WORKS – The work involved the gallery's spaces and services , with the introduction of innovative technological tools, new signage, solutions dedicated to sensory and cognitive accessibility, as well as a general improvement of the visitor experience . A particularly important aspect is the development of a mobile app , available for iOS and Android devices, which, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence , has transformed the 400 cataloguing cards of the works present into content accessible to different user profiles – children, people with cognitive disabilities, the blind – and made it available in five languages. Visitors will be able to scan the QR codes present in the captions of the works or on the panels in the room and will see on their device the image, caption and description of the work with a voice-over function. Furthermore, the panels in the room are available in Braille and in both Italian and English .
The external signage has also been updated, with a route from the public gardens to the gallery enriched with tactile maps and texts in Braille . Outside, there are new plaques presenting the works in the gardens and describing the monumental trees . The project included the creation of tactile drawings of some selected works, with descriptions in both plain text and Braille .
The entire lighting system has been updated with LED technology , and the furnishings have been modified to be more functional, comfortable, and accessible . The reading room has been transformed into a workshop with new furnishings designed especially for children and people with disabilities , while the former picture gallery has been transformed into a new reading room , with reorganized spaces, new furnishings, and a more coherent display focused on the most representative works . The restrooms have also been completely renovated to be more accessible and usable for everyone.