Inclusive Museums: From Physical Accessibility to Cultural Appropriation

Cultural Heritage belongs to all people, and its preservation is dedicated to the cultural growth and human promotion, then it must to be available to all citizens. Today, sensitivity has increased on this issue, and over time differ-ent levels of accessibility to Cultural Heritage have been recognized: social, financial, physical, perceptual and cognitive, cultural accessibility – but the final stage is related to “appropriation", when people get the Cultural Herit-age not only from the intellectual point of view but also from the emotional one, really benefiting from it. In museums, as confined places where the communication of heritage is the main goal, it is clear that physical accessi-bility is only a prerequisite for being able to really appropriate the contents. Several guidelines have been developed, but the sensitivity of curators and designers (from the museological and museographic point of view) is crucial. This paper aims to discuss these issues, with particular reference to a wider concept of accessibility.