Palermo, the battle of Valeria

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Published by Marta Strinati on 2 March 2024

Architectural and cultural barriers

Wednesday February 21 2024, at seven in the evening, in Via di Serradifalco, almost at the entrance to Piazza Principe, in Palermo, when Valeria ends up on the asphalt everyone arrives. The police, the police, the ambulance. Valeria's face is swollen and bloody. She has a fractured nasal septum, the CT scan attests. Her mouth is swollen and her front teeth move. She is traumatized and dejected.

'I had to take her to the emergency room myself, with my car, because the ambulance wanted to transport her lying on the stretcher, but she can't stay in that position without a respirator. I picked her up and put her on the seat', says Vittoria, Valeria's mother.

Valeria's smile

First aid first, the day after the orthopedic visit to the hospital, then the dentist. 'The fall caused Valeria to dislocate her teeth. But her mouth is swollen and now she cannot do anything about it. You have to wait three weeks to figure out what to do'explains Vittoria.

The beautiful teeth it was an achievement for Valeria. Until she was 14, she walked but often fell, due to her illness, and eventually her incisors broke. She had them fixed up and now she cares about them a lot.

Trapped in the house

Go out and smiling at others is not easy though. Valeria is stuck at home. It is not possible for her to go out independently.

An accessible home – even economically – he has been waiting for it for 15 years. The request of her mother, alone with three small children and without work, however, never reached the top of the lists of the 'housing emergency' in Palermo. Together they fought and overcome the tightest curves thanks to the help of Vittoria's mother and sisters.

The entrance to the condominium where Valeria lives, rented, with her mother, a sister and a little brother, now aged 17 and 13, is preceded by six steps. To overcome them the young woman is lifted with her entire chair.

No solution

The request demolishing this flight of steps - formalized only a few days ago, after 'verbal requests' - would be possible even in the event of indifference from the condominium owners, given that Valeria's family is willing to pay the costs.

'The order of the Supreme Court n. 31462 of 5 December 2018 establishes that, even in the event of opposition from condominium owners, the disabled person can have the stairlift, lift and any other mobile structure necessary to overcome architectural barriers installed at his own expense.', explains the lawyer Dario Dongo, founder of Égalité onlus. NOTE ruling

Interviewed by Égalité onlus on this situation, the administrator of the condominium in question, who asked us to remain anonymous, responds in two phases.

At first, she claims: 'I have no request to install a slide. If I had received it I would have responded as required by law: the request is brought to the condominium meeting and in case of refusal, after 90 days, the architectural barriers can be removed at the expense of the applicant'. In fact, only that same evening did Valeria's family send a written request.

The next day, amid incomprehensible threats to contact a lawyer to prevent our search for information, the woman concludes that

- 'to knock down the 6 steps would require a length of slide that would end beyond the entrance door, in the street

– therefore the only system is the stair lift.

All it takes is for the lady to present me with the type, photo and method of placement and I will take care of informing the Condominiums.

The expense will be borne by the lady, use will be private.

Among other things, disabled people can benefit from concessions'.

All clear, but what is the certainty that no other condominium owners - elderly people, mothers with strollers - are interested in removing the architectural barrier based on?

Without ever having received a request, without having brought the topic to the condominium meeting, the administrator already knows that 'Nobody is interested in eliminating architectural barriers'.

AAA affordable house wanted

Habit to consider the removal of an architectural barrier as a need of the disabled person rather than as an improvement useful to everyone is hard to die.

In any case, the electric lift is not suitable for Valeria. We explained this to the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, asking if the city has established it emergency housing lists reserved for disabled people. Furthermore, these citizens can hardly occupy accommodation illegally. As many have done, taking possession without title of the assets seized from the mafia. And rewarded by an amnesty just decided by the Municipality of Palermo. (2)

Valeria's battle

'Palermo is a beautiful city, but at the same time it has many flaws thanks to those who don't know how to govern it. For us who live with a disability everything is much more complicated and this city doesn't help.

From the sidewalks shattered at the slides that don't exist and where some exist you can always find a few cars parked thanks to the incivility of the people. For me, thinking about going for a walk starts to feel risky from the moment I leave the front door', says Valeria Lombardo.

The young girl from Palermo However, he has a passion that can help overcome any city limitations. She loves traveling and discovering new distant countries. Where, moreover, accessibility is five stars. Next stop Dubai, in April. After the shock of the fall he is thinking of canceling the start. Bad idea.

Marta Strinati

On the cover, Valeria Lombardo