Accessible Tourism: Marco Bottardi Presents “Stronger Than the Darkness”

Accessible tourism is the focus of “Stronger Than the Darkness”, the second book by Marco Bottardi, which will be presented on Monday, September 7, at 8:30 p.m. in the Chiostro di S. Maria de Senioribus at the “G. Rambotti” Civic Archaeological Museum in Desenzano del Garda, with the patronage of the City. The story begins with the motorcycle accident of April 19, 2010, which occurred one hundred metres from his home and left Bottardi, then 36, with three fractured vertebrae and a spinal cord injury. The meeting will retrace his personal journey and more than 15 years of commitment to making places, services and hospitality more accessible.

This experience led to projects improving accessibility at Desenzano railway station, work in paralympic sailing, the first accessible beach on Lake Garda in Rivoltella, and the associations Zero Barriere ODV and World4All. Bottardi has also taken road-safety education activities to more than 80 schools, involving over 1,500 students, and inclusive-hospitality programmes to more than 50 organisations, reaching over 800 professionals. The book focuses above all on rebuilding life after the accident and on transforming disability into a concrete commitment to the local area.