An unforgettable sensory experience in the dark. Back in 2011, I had the opportunity to visit and act as a temporary spokesperson and guide at the Tactile Museum of Catania, which during the Christmas period was relocated to Le Ciminiere di Catania.
The Tactile Museum: A Project of Inclusion
A museum created in Catania in 2008, developed in collaboration with the Regional Braille Printing House of the Italian Union of the Blind (UIC), following similar institutions in Varese, Madrid, and Ancona, designed for those who cannot rely on sight (visually impaired and blind people).
Tactile exploration represents the only perceptual way within the museum to approach art and culture. It is a multifunctional center aimed at the integration of blind people and, at the same time, allows sighted visitors to understand their condition and see the world through their eyes: their hands.
Library, Braille, and Educational Tools
The museum also includes a library curated by the Regional Braille Printing House, with a vast collection of books and audiobooks written in Braille, and the showroom “Frammenti di luce” (“Fragments of Light”), where visitors can purchase educational games for blind children, tiflodidactic materials, maps, and technological tools useful for autonomy and cultural development.
Among these is Brailina, the soft Barbie-like learning doll, which allows blind girls to type and learn letters in Braille.
The “Dark Bar”: A Reverse Experience
An outstanding feature where blind people guide sighted visitors is the “dark bar”.
Inside, in total darkness, visitors are served by a blind guide and led through a new experience: recognizing objects hanging on the walls in the dark only by touch.
Tactile Models of Catania’s Monuments
Exploring the museum, visitors find three-dimensional models of the city’s symbolic landmarks: the Cathedral, the Church of San Giuliano, “U Liotru,” Castello Ursino, and the Teatro Massimo Bellini.
This is a constantly expanding area that even includes a reproduction of the Temple of Agrigento, all carefully designed with attention to detail and materials.
Among the artworks, complete with Braille labels and meant to be explored by touch, are the Venus de Milo, the head of David, and the bust of Bellini.
The “Garden of the Senses”: A Path of Scents and Perception
Finally, visitors can explore the outdoor “Garden of the Senses” by walking a fully blindfolded path and experiencing the scents of some plants native to our land: jasmine, carob, and almond.
The tactile-podotactile tiles trace a path that never allows perfect balance. A person exits the route only by choice or will.
A Final Reflection
One final reflection after visiting the museum: full inclusion, the discovery of art and the outside world, and a desire for life are sensations that can truly be “touched with the hands” while exploring this museum.
Text: Giovanna Muzzetta
Photos: from the web
