Universal Design as an added value for heritage valorization: the cases of Brazil and Italy

Heritage attracts plenty of visitors internationally and plays an active role for cultural valorization. It is a key place where visitors enjoy the beauty and emotions of cultural knowledge and give an indirect boost to the tourism business. The success key is disclosing heritage and knowledge to users with different needs, giving more visibility especially to hidden 'minor' monuments. Within the Brazilian Program Science without Borders (Ciência Sem Fronteiras) by CAPES between CNR ITC and Pro-access Group/Program of Post-graduation in Architecture at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Núcleo Pró-acesso, PROARQ/FAU/UFRJ), two international contexts - Brazil and Italy - were surveyed for their heritage and potentially increasing visitors, due to forthcoming great events (Brazil) and to the traditionally strong international tourism position (Italy). The authors and their staff surveyed some relevant case studies of heritage and cultural areas in their countries. The evaluation method is a simplified heuristic model based on the seven UD principles and on accessibility requirements. It was carried out through on-site visits, diagnostics analysis of accessibility problems and check of UD measures/solutions. This led to a comparison among context, approach, vision, legislation, standards and solutions, in the view of identifying differences and similarities in facing UD questions.