During the period of the crusades beginning at the end of the eleventh century, Valencia went back and forth several times between the Muslims and the Christians, with it finally be destroyed and abandoned by the Christians under the rule of Alfonso Emperor of Spain leaving Almoravid Masdali to take possession of it in May 1109. The situation remained as such until 1238 when King James I of Aragon, assisted by German, English, French and Italian troops laid siege to the city leading to the final surrender of a reputed 50, 000 Moors in October of that year.

The Rome Opera House, Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma is an absolute must be it for opera, ballet, or even just to visit the impressive building. Constructed originally as the Teatro Costanze in the 19th century, the Teatro Dell’Opera is home of both an orchestra and a ballet company as well as the opera which is performed both in the opera house and from time to time at other location, for example the Baths of Caracalla where in the summer the opera company performs its pieces. The original theartre undertook a major revamp in 1926 when it became known as the Royal Opera House, only to have a further name change with the fall of the monarchy and extensive remodeling in 1958 when it became the Teatro dell’Opera. Marcello Piacentini oversaw the renovations with breathtaking and daring innovations making drastic changes to the original architecture and designing the faade that is seen today.

In fact, organized tours offer trips to wheelchair friendly hotels, museums and other places of interest so that disabled travelers can enjoy their destination just as much as the next traveler. Rome, the grand capital of Italy, is no exception and has joined this trend in a big way.

Admittedly, in previous years, Rome seemed to be oblivious to the daily trials of wheelchair bound locals and visitors as they tried to maneuver their way around the city and enter buildings that were not easily accessible. However, it is heartening to see that many new building projects have taken the disabled into account and are now providing ramps and lifts features that would not have been in place perhaps a decade ago.