EX-IN_AccessiBILITY: percorsi di accessibilità digitale per la Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vita a Napoli

A relevant contemporary phenomenon in Naples concerns the many inaccessible religious architectures, the focus of the research project funded by PRIN 2022 EX-IN_AccessiBILITY. These buildings, often forgotten by both citizens and tourists, are inaccessible not only in a physical sense, but also culturally, due to the city’s historical and urban complexity. This contribution focuses on the Church of Santa Maria della Vita, part of a route linked to catacombs and cemeteries, such as the Fontanelle. Founded in 1577 by the Carmelite order, the church underwent expansions and functional changes over the centuries, culminating in its urban isolation caused by the Sanità bridge, built during the French mandate, and by the suppression of the monastic order, which relegated the convent to secular uses and eventual full decay. The project addresses the current inaccessibility by proposing a process of knowledge and enhancement through digital surveys and historical sources, aimed at developing guidelines for new forms of accessibility. Given the site’s liturgical importance and the initial impossibility of fully restoring physical access, the project aims for digital enjoyment: to virtually recreate the church’s original space, with artworks digitally repositioned, accessible through a path of virtual visit and storytelling. The work ends with further proposals for content accessibility along the Fontanelle path, and with ideas for the use of collaborative platforms.