ROME.- Centrale Montemartini, one of Rome’s most distinctive museums, has completed a €473,066 accessibility project that reshapes how visitors move through and experience the former thermoelectric power station.

Funded through Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the 22-month project focused on removing physical and sensory barriers throughout the museum. The improvements extend from the street and entrance plaza to the galleries, elevators, restrooms and visitor services.

The goal, according to the Capitoline Superintendency for Cultural Heritage, was not simply to add individual accessibility features, but to create a more coherent and independent visitor experience.

Centrale Montemartini is part of the Capitoline Museums and is celebrated for its unusual combination of classical art and industrial archaeology. Ancient Roman sculptures are displayed beside turbines, engines and other machinery preserved from the building’s original life as a power station.

From parking area to accessible public space

One of the most visible changes is outside the museum.

The area in front of the entrance, previously used for parking, has been converted into a fully pedestrianized plaza. The redesigned space includes accessible paving, planted areas, floor-level lighting and modular seating.

A protected pedestrian route now connects Via Ostiense with the museum entrance. Tactile signage along the path is intended to help blind and partially sighted visitors navigate the approach independently.

Wayfinding has also been improved near Garbatella station on Metro Line B, making the route from public transportation to the museum easier to follow.





Rome’s Councillor for Culture, Massimiliano Smeriglio, described the former parking area as a small but carefully designed new square. The space also includes a tribute to Corrado Puccioni, the engineer associated with the design and preservation of the power station.

Changes throughout the museum

Inside Centrale Montemartini, the project introduced new orientation systems and clearer informational panels with simple, recognizable graphics.

Additional seating has been placed along the exhibition route, while the museum’s refreshment area has been renovated. A new ticket desk has been built at a height suitable for wheelchair users, and the cloakroom now includes Braille numbering.

Both elevators have been equipped with voice-synthesis systems.

The restrooms were completely refurbished, with two accessible bathrooms for visitors with disabilities. A separate family area includes a changing table and child-sized facilities. Visual warning signals connected to the fire-alarm system have also been installed for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors.

The museum has added four tactile orientation plans to help visitors understand the building’s layout and move through both the exterior and interior routes. Two tactile reproductions of works from the collection have also been created.

A new digital guide

Digital access forms another important part of the project.

A new museum app offers 16 stops organized into four different visitor routes. These include video narratives, audio descriptions, Italian Sign Language videos and material designed for children.

The content can be accessed through visitors’ personal devices or through two touchscreen monitors installed at the museum.

Together, the physical, tactile and digital features are intended to allow visitors with different needs to experience the museum more independently.

“From today, it welcomes visitors in an even more accessible, inclusive and inviting setting,” Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said, describing Centrale Montemartini as one of the most appreciated and unusual institutions in the city’s museum network.

Smeriglio said the work reflected a broader understanding of innovation as an improvement to the visitor experience.

“It was important to work on the physical and sensory accessibility of Centrale Montemartini, as well as its digital solutions, so that everyone can truly enter and enjoy the museum space,” he said.

A power station transformed by art

The Centrale Montemartini complex opened in 1912 as Rome’s first public electricity-generating plant. After it was decommissioned in the 1960s, the utility company Acea converted the site into a multipurpose cultural venue during the 1980s, preserving much of its industrial architecture and machinery.

Its transformation into a museum began in 1997 with The Machines and the Gods, a temporary exhibition that placed sculptures from the Capitoline Museums within the former power station.

The contrast between monumental ancient figures and massive industrial equipment proved highly popular with the public. The success of the exhibition led to the building’s conversion into a permanent museum in 2001.

Since then, Centrale Montemartini has continued to expand its displays and restore works from the Capitoline collections.

The recently completed accessibility project marks the latest stage in that evolution. By redesigning both the practical and interpretive aspects of the visit, the museum aims to preserve the atmosphere that made it famous while making its galleries easier to experience for a broader public.

The result is a renewed museum in which Rome’s ancient past, industrial history and contemporary commitment to accessibility now share the same space.