Venice's gondolas finally become accessible to wheelchair users
MILAN — With its many arched bridges, Venice cannot claim to be among the world's most wheelchair-friendly cities. But two gondoliers are challenging that image.
A new private-public project, dubbed Gondolas4All, on Friday unveiled the first access point for wheelchair users and people with disabilities to board one of Venice's storied black-lacquered gondolas.
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Gondolier Alessandro Dalla Pieta, who cofounded the project with Enrico Greifenberg, said that over 20 years, he had seen "people in wheelchairs dozens of times looking at us as if we were the last Coca-Cola in the desert. It tugged at my heart."
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The service, from the car-accessible square Piazzale Roma, will begin in about six weeks, after gondoliers are trained in operating the lift.
Visitors can book a ride at the usual tariffs, set by the city, at the website www.gondolas4all.com.
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Topics Social Good
Matt Petronzio was the Social Good Editor at Mashable, where he led coverage surrounding social impact, activism, identities, and world-changing innovation. He was based at the New York City headquarters from January 2012 to April 2018, and previously worked as the assistant features editor.
