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One of the world’s most beautiful cities is about to become more accessible

Aug. 19, 2021
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3 min read
Grand Canal on a sunny summer day, Venice, Italy
One of the world’s most beautiful cities is about to become more accessible
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Venice is ramping up plans to make the famed Italian city more accessible.

The beautiful city, full of canals and speckled with more than 400 bridges that require climbing steps, hasn’t historically been particularly friendly for those who have mobility issues that require wheelchairs, walkers or crutches. But that could all change in the near future.

Venice in April 2018. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)

Venice officials have recently pledged to engineer ramps that will connect some of Venice’s buzziest sites, branching off from Piazza San Marco (also known as St. Mark’s Square). It’s a $1.6 million undertaking, but once finished it’ll be the first time in the 1,200 years since Venice’s founding that the city will be wheelchair accessible.

Related: Will big cruise ships say goodbye to Venice?

Venice in April 2018. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)

The first stage of the project will see five bridges equipped with ramps that are designed to be non-slippery and silent, starting with the Ponte de la Croze, near Piazzale Roma, a square at the entrance of the city. That ramp will connect with other bridges that already have ramps, snaking through the vibrant Santa Croce and San Polo areas to the vaporetto (water bus) stop outside the San Polo church. Taking the vaporetto across the Grand Canal to San Samuele, the route picks up and links the Santo Stefano and Sant’Angelo squares before ending at the Venice opera house (Teatro La Fenice).

Related: Check out the lengths this 14th-century castle went to for some of its guests

Other than the main St. Mark’s path, two other bridges will see the addition of a ramp: one from the Campo della Misericordia square to nightlife district Fondamenta della Misericordia and another on Giudecca island, a popular residential area.

Related: 8 mistakes tourists make in Venice

Part of the reason it took so long for the city to make accessible updates is that there are rigid rules surrounding changes that may affect Venice’s cultural heritage. Other options for wheelchair users have included the vaporetto, which is accessible but only runs select routes and is often crowded, and nonelectric wheelchair-accessible gondola company Gondolas4All, currently in hibernation due to lack of funding.

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The plan, according to reporting from CNN, is to have the ramps operational within the next few months.

Venice in April 2018. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)

Related: Venice cracking down on tourists for snacking and sunbathing

Featured image by KIRILL RUDENKO/GETTY IMAGES
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
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