Parking
The Eremo di Santa Caterina del Sasso is a picturesque monastery overlooking the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore, in the municipality of Leggiuno. The access point is in piazzale delle Cascine Quiquio. People with permit for citizens with disability can park about 30 m away, where there are 4 reserved parking spaces. At about 200 meters there is also a large free car park, with 2 parking spaces reserved for people with permit for citizens with disability.

Information for visitors
From piazzale delle Cascine del Quiquio the hermitage can be reached by walking down along a panoramic stairway (240 steps), or by lift.
The lift is operated by service personnel and requires an access card. It is free for persons with disabilities and for those accompanying them. A manual wheelchair is available for visitors.
A virtual tour of the hermitage

Reception
In piazzale delle Cascine del Quiquio there are two buildings.
The first building houses:
restrooms, including one equipped for persons with disabilities
the tourist office IAT (open only in summer), which is reached via a step (h 8 cm) or alternatively a sloping ramp (length 120 cm, width 70 cm, gradient 4%). The entrance has a swing door (110 cm).
The second building houses:
the automatic ticket office for the lift (coin h 140 cm)
the information point (counter h 102 cm).

How to access
From piazzale delle Cascine del Quiquio visitors can reach the hermitage using a large lift carved into the rock, which climbs more than 51 meters.
Alternatively visitors can walk down along a panoramic staircase, which has a double swing gate (210 cm total) and consists of 240 steps (h 15 cm) with a cobblestoned surface which is at times uneven.

Lift and entrance
The lift connects piazzale delle Cascine del Quiquio (1st floor) with hermitage floor (floor 0).
From piazzale delle Cascine del Quiquio visitors reach the lift past a sliding automatic door (125 cm) and a turnstile (182 cm wide).
The lift has the following features:

• door width 90 cm, cabin space 138x152 cm
• Internal button panel in Braille and raised (h 100 cm)
• acoustic and visual signal at landing
• emergency alarm bell (h 90 cm).

From the level of the hermitage (floor 0), visitors go along a corridor for 45 meters and pass a turnstile (182 cm wide).
Then, visitors go along a flat stretch with compact stone surface (about 15 m) which crosses the garden of the hermitage.
To reach the entrance of the hermitage visitors pass: a gate (116 cm), 16 consecutive steps (h 14 cm) which can be overcome via a platform stairlift (operated by the lift service personnel), and an inclined ramp ( 3 meters long, 8% gradient).
The hermitage entrance has a threshold (h 2 cm) and a double door (60 cm each). A gallery overlooking the lake (about 15 meters) followed by a double door (60 cm each) leads visitors into the atrium from which the tour route begins.

Exhibition itinerary
From the atrium of the hermitage visitors pass a double door (68 cm each) and a ramp (length 50 cm, 15% gradient), then walk 40 meters along a paved surface and you reach the gallery of the church.
To access the gallery, visitors climb a step (h 10 cm) or alternatively use a ramp on the right side (length 15 cm, 6% gradient) followed by a threshold of 90 cm.
The entrance to the church has double swing doors (60 cm each); two non-consecutive ramps leading into the nave (first flight: length 80 cm, gradient 18%; second ramp: length 40 cm, gradient 16%). There are benches and kneeling stands (seat h 50 cm).
Both aisles are accessible via a ramp (length 30 cm, gradient 14%).
The chapels in the right aisle are accessed by two consecutive steps (h 16 cm).
In the hermitage there is a bookshop with souvenirs on sale (counter h 82 cm): it can be reached through a swing door (80 cm) and a ramp (length 50 cm, slope 15%).
There is also a small exhibition hall with a large opening.

Direction signs
In exterior and interior parts of the hermitage (the church interior excluded) there are directional arrows written in large letters (at least 7 cm) and clearly visible.

Restrooms
The toilet equipped for persons with disabilities is located in piazzetta delle Cascine del Quiquio, near the tourist office IAT, and has the following features:

• anteroom with an external step (h 3 cm) and swing door (width 90 cm)
• toilet with swing door (width 90 cm)
• wall-mounted washbasin (128 cm front space)
• floor-mounted WC (124 cm front space, right side 114 cm, left side 32 cm, horizontal grab bar on the right side, handrails along the perimeter of the bath, hand shower left side).
• Bathroom signs are clearly visible, at eye level and medium-large size.