THE ITINERARY IS ACCESSIBLE FOR TOURISTS WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS (Project "FOR ALL Tourism for All All Tourists")
Minimum duration: 1 to 2 days
Difficulty of the route: low
Length of the route in km: 1.5 km
LOCATION DESCRIPTION
Santa Maria Maggiore, landmark of the Valley Vigezzo Valley, is a small village, intact in its wonderful mountain architecture. A stroll through the town's streets allows you to enjoy the main attractions: the Centro Culturale Vecchio Municipio, the landmark building of Santa Maria Maggiore, decorated with geometric patterns in warm colours and home to temporary exhibitions; the Villa Antonia garden, which houses the Museo dello Spazzacamino (Chimney Sweep Museum), unique at the national level, which honours the history of the small chimney sweeps; and the recent Casa del Profumo Feminis-Farina, which celebrates the birth of Eau de Cologne. Not far from the historic centre, it is possible to immerse oneself in nature by taking a relaxing walk in the town's pine forest or admire the view from above by taking the cable car up to the Piana di Vigezzo.
INFORMATION
PARKING:
The Municipality of Santa Maria Maggiore allows vehicles displaying the European Disabled Person's Identification Card to park in any parking space free of charge.
MUNICIPAL POLICE:
Tel. +39 0324 954118 – e-mail : vigili@comune.santamariamaggiore.vb.it
TOURIST OFFICE
Piazza Risorgimento 28 - Tel. +39 0324 95091
info@santamariamaggiore.info – www.santamariamaggiore.info
HOW TO GET THERE
BY TRAIN
From the Domodossola International Station, you can take the Ferrovia Vigezzina Centovalli train to Santa Maria Maggiore station.
People with disabilities should, if not already announced by other carriers, send an email to info@vigezzinacentovalli.com or call +39 0324 242055 at least 24 hours before the journey, stating which trains they intend to use and the type of assistance required according to their disability.
From the station to the historic centre:
The 700-metre walk (about 10 minutes on foot) connects the Santa Maria Maggiore railway station with Piazza Risorgimento, the heart of the town's historic centre. The route runs along Via Luigi Cadorna, Via Rossetti Valentini, Via Cavalli until it reaches Piazza Risorgimento. The station is paved with self-locking blocks. The car park, with one stall reserved for people with disabilities, has a regular asphalt pavement. The route leading from the car park to the historic centre is characterised by different types of paving, from asphalt to stone, distinguishing two main sections, one facing the vehicular road and the second characterised by a pedestrian road. The average width of the passages is easy and there are no obstacles that reduce the width.
BY CAR
You can park in the public car park closest to Piazza Risorgimento that is in Piazza Mercato, where there are two spaces reserved for people with disabilities. The reserved parking spaces are located on the side closest to the historic centre, which reduces the route for people with motor disabilities. The 150-metre route (about 3 minutes' walk) links Piazza Mercato with Piazza Risorgimento, the historic heart of the village, through Via Roma. The path is wide and can be easily covered by visitors in wheelchairs. The ground is made of porphyry cubes with two central rows of stone slabs.
WHAT TO SEE
We begin our tour of the historic centre of Santa Maria Maggiore from its landmark building, the Old Town Hall, located in the characteristic Piazza Risorgimento. Today, the building houses temporary exhibitions and is a centre for cultural events. The building consists of two floors and a turret. The main entrance has a 10 cm high step and a flight of stairs to reach the first floor; however, there is an accessible entrance and to reach it you have to climb a sloping road to the right of the main entrance. The route leads directly to the door of the lift. The lift is key-operated by staff and leads to the upper levels of the building. There is no bell for assistance so you will need an accompanying person to come up to the first floor reception to collect the lift keys or call +39 0324 94213. The lift provides access to the first and mezzanine floors. The ground floor is characterised by the Sala Mandamentale which hosts conferences, literary meetings, classical and jazz concerts , recreational and creative events for adults and children and the Sala ex-posta (mezzanine floor) where small musical and theatrical events take place. In the case of public events held on the ground floor, a ramp is provided to overcome the entrance step. On the first floor is the Exhibition Hall, consisting of three physical spaces in which the Municipality of Santa Maria Maggiore hosts its exhibitions. The Tower, consisting of three small cells connected by a spiral staircase and used as an exhibition space, is not accessible.
A few metres from Piazza Risorgimento we find the Casa del Profumo (House of Perfume) which pays tribute to Giovanni Paolo Feminis, a native of Santa Maria Maggiore who emigrated to Cologne at a very young age and invented the formula for Eau de Cologne. The building has two floors: on the ground floor are the main entrance, the ticket office, reception and bookshop, the toilets and the garden. These environments are all accessible. The upper floor hosts the exhibition dedicated to Eau de Cologne. Along the way, there are audiovisual multimedia stations and containers of essences for a multi-sensory experience. The exhibition is only accessible via a flight of stairs consisting of several steps. The garden can be reached from the bookshop and is a space for rest and relaxation. The evocative greenhouse is located at the bottom of the garden and is a glass structure with a heating system. To reach it, it is necessary to overcome a difference in height and an access threshold. A few metres further on is the Villa Antonia Park, marked by a sign. Along the path leading from the gate to the entrance of the Villa, one can admire the transalpine architecture of the building: a very sloping roof, decorated eaves and the movement created by the asymmetrical and staggered architectural bodies. The route is fully accessible, does not present any major obstacles and allows the visitor to reach the Chimney Sweep Museum to proceed with the visit or alternatively stop in the garden to enjoy the open space. The park is characterised by a collection of red beeches and consists of a small area with a grass surface and artificial lighting. The Chimney Sweep museum is on two levels and is fully accessible by lift.
Not far from the historic centre of Santa Maria Maggiore, about 1 km (15 minutes on foot) you can immerse yourself in the green and take a regenerating walk in the pine forest area. If you wish to arrive by car, there is a large, convenient car park in Via Pineta 22, next to the main entrance, with gravel and asphalt parking. The entrance to the pine forest is delimited by a wooden gate more than 150 cm wide. The promenade is characterised by a main route of more than 2.5 km in length with asphalt paving and numerous secondary paths, with dirt or stone slabs sections. The main route has a homogeneous pavement and slopes suitable for good usability by visitors in wheelchairs. The secondary paths, however, are difficult to negotiate, both because of the uneven pavement and the gradients. Along the main route there are numerous areas equipped for rest and relaxation. There are no obstacles that reduce the passage to less than 100 cm. The entire 13 km cycle and pedestrian path in the pine forest from Santa Maria Maggiore to Druogno or towards Malesco and Re can be covered using a wheelchair attachment or an easy bike and is the ideal place for simple, regenerating walks that will give you moments of pure relaxation in contact with nature.
From Santa Maria Maggiore it is possible to reach the Piana di Vigezzo (1700 m above sea level) by cable car and admire from above the pastures, alpine huts and long paths that characterise the area. You arrive by car in the parking in front of the cable car in Via Pittore Carlo Fornara 13, Prestinone di Craveggia (VB), which is about 2 km from Santa Maria Maggiore. The entrance to the cable car is next to the coffee shop and is accessed via the signposted ramp. The 8-seater gondola takes you in just a few minutes to Piana di Vigezzo, an enchanting panoramic balcony and starting point for numerous winter and summer excursions. The cable car is accessed via a platform positioned at the time by the cable car staff. For information you can contact +39 345 8587040 - info@pianavigezzo.it - www.pianadivigezzo.it
OVERALL ACCESSIBILITY DESCRIPTION:
The route is accessible for people with reduced mobility. For people who use a manual wheelchair, the presence of an accompanying person is recommended, especially in the old town centre, as the route has some cobbled sections and slight inclines and at the Piana di Vigezzo because of the uneasy terrain.
Path maker: Fabrizio Marta - Rotex
Author of texts: Fabrizio Marta - Rotex
