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Rome

Finding Accessibility in the Place I Least Expected

Posted on July 7, 2024July 7, 2024 by Chillie Falls

Written by John Morris, Wheelchairtravel.org, July 5, 202

I have visited the Italian capital city many times as a wheelchair user, but continue to be surprised at the accessibility features I discover with each return trip.

I took my first trip to Rome, Italy in 2012. I was not yet a wheelchair user and spent more than a week exploring historical sites like the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Roman Forum, and religious sites including Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica and countless other churches.

Following my car accident, I long assumed that Rome wasn’t accessible — that is, until I traveled there for the first time as a wheelchair user in 2022. With that trip, my long-time assumption of inaccessibility was proven incorrect, and Rome has become a city that I return to each year. Last month, following a trip to Liechtenstein, I decided to spend a few days in Rome (it’s now my favorite destination).

Each time I return, I seek out new attractions to include in the Wheelchair Accessible Travel Guide to Rome, Italy. In June, I was surprised to discover that one of the most historic and religious sites in Rome, a chapel used by popes for over a thousand years and that is almost always overlooked by tourists, has in fact been made wheelchair accessible. The access provided to wheelchair users is astounding, and I am excited to share it with you.

But first, some history for context.

Nowadays, we associate the Catholic Church with Vatican City — it’s the world’s smallest city, wholly encircled by the City of Rome, and home to Pope Francis. The Vatican City-state that we know today was only established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty and, prior to it, the pope had not always lived within that perimeter or, for that matter, within Rome. History buffs may recall that, from 1309 to 1376, the Pope did not reside in (or step foot in) the Eternal City — during that 67-year period, seven successive popes lived in Avignon, France, a city along the Rhône River just a short distance from Marseille and the Mediterranean Sea.

Front facade of basilica church with a wheelchair ramp seen in the foreground.
Basilica of St. John Lateran

The papacy’s temporary relocation to Avignon was shocking in that the pope, who is the Bishop of Rome, had abandoned his home and his seat at what is today one of the world’s most stunning cathedrals, the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. That basilica, originally consecrated in the year 324 AD and reconstructed between 1588 and 1715, is one of the four major papal basilicas. Like the three other major basilicas (St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Peter’s Basilica), St. John Lateran is wheelchair accessible and a popular stop on tours of Rome.

What most visitors to Rome overlook is located just across the street — the Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies), a chapel of tremendous historic and religious import, tucked inside the Lateran Palace, where popes had lived until Pope Clement V relocated to Avignon in 1309.

Marble staircase with religious art and frescoes adorning the surrounding walls and arched ceiling.
The Holy Stairs.

For nearly a thousand years, the Sancta Sanctorum had served as the personal chapel to countless popes. Visitors access the chapel by climbing the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) on their knees. The 28 marble stairs were moved from Jerusalem to Rome in 326 AD and are, according to Catholic Tradition, the ones that led to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate — the very stairs which Jesus is said to have climbed on His way to trial.

Whether you believe the tradition or not, ascending those stairs leads to one of the most historic chapels in the world — one that has probably existed since the 8th century.

Facade of building that leads to the Holy Stairs, wheelchair ramp to building entrance.
Entrance to the Scala Sancta and Sancta Sanctorum Chapel.

Obviously, the Holy Stairs themselves are not wheelchair accessible, but I still hoped to see the stairs, even if I could not reach the top. As I exited the Lateran Basilica, crossed the street, and approached the building’s entrance, I noticed a wheelchair ramp to the left of the building.

Indeed, that ramp led inside the building and placed me at the base of the stairs, where visitors and pilgrims were ascending on their knees. Staff sprung into action as I approached and led me to an adjacent staircase — one that, to my surprise (and delight!), was outfitted with a stair lift.

Stair lift at bottom of long staircase.

Now, a warning. Stair lifts break down often. They’re the least reliable accessibility feature known to man. Absolute garbage, most of the time. But this was no ordinary stair lift. It was the Lamborghini of stair lifts, the very best example of stair lift machinery I have ever seen. It carried me and my power wheelchair without incident. This beautiful machine fulfilled its duty and, within a couple of minutes, I had reached the upper floor, where I could freely access the historic chapel. What a win!

Dimly lit chapel with mosaic tile work and vibrant religious iconography.

Sancta Sanctorum, the Holy of Holies Chapel.

Dimly lit and small, but with a towering ceiling, the chapel houses a reliquary in which a large number of sacred relics are kept. It is this (now secured) collection that inspired the chapel’s name, and the inscription above it that reads (in Latin), NON EST IN TOTO SANCTIOR ORBE LOCVS, “there is no place in this world more sacred.”

Given the small number of people who visit the Holy Stairs and chapel, you’re unlikely to be disturbed by others — for a portion of my visit, I was the only person inside the chapel, and at no time were more than a few people present inside. Ironically, many people climb the holy stairs only to skip the chapel — don’t be one of those people!

Here’s the point — I never expected to see this place. Had I not been so committed to seeing the stairs, I might never have approached a building I thought to be inaccessible. For wheelchair users, assuming inaccessibility is our default, since so much of the world (and so much of Rome) was not designed with us in mind. In this case, I am so glad that I checked and that my assumption was wrong. This was an experience I won’t soon forget, and one that I hope you will add to your own Roman tour itinerary. It’s nice to find accessibility in unexpected places, and I would say that a thousand-year-old chapel is an extremely unexpected place!

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