Disabled fencers, including world champions and medallists, faced off in Rome's Castel Sant'Angelo to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday.

The day, celebrated around the world on 3 December every year, was adopted in 1992 by the United Nations to raise awareness and draw attention on people with disabilities and favor inclusivity.

In Rome, a traditional school of fencing organized a demonstration to show barriers could be broken.

Among the fencers was Andrea Jacquier. The 24 year-old Italian national begun practicing in 2023, after a road accident in 2022 left him on a wheelchair.

“Fencing made me go out, and made me know my disability, made me actually live a life,” he said.

AP Video by Andrea Rosa