Elaborating on an age-old cliché,
if pictures tell a thousand words, then Panorama - a new video
installation about Italy opening to the public on the sidelines
of Expo 2015 in Milan on Thursday - would fill up several
encyclopedias.
A 15-minute immersive video played on a 5-meter high,
circular maxi-screen in a specially built viewing facility in
Piazza GaeAulenti, Panorama shows how Italian excellence in
everything from fashion to food to art, hospitality, design and
engineering is the result of a "well established savoir-faire
and cultural heritage that Italy has created over 3,000 years of
history," organizers said Wednesday at a press preview.
It is a breathtaking, visually stunning and technologically
sophisticated work (new drone technologies were patented as part
of its making): accompanied by classical and contemporary music,
viewers are surrounded by images and videos of all that is
beautiful in Italy.
The video starts with a 360-degree degree view of Monte
Bianco in the Italian Alps and ends with a slow-motion close-up
of Michelangelo's David, in Florence. After the initial mountain
scenery, the video cuts to an inside view of the Colosseum: from
here the camera rises slowly, giving viewers the feeling of
lifting off the ground as they start on a journey through space
and time.
From the famous Roman arena, viewers are taken through the
center of the city itself, then onto picturesque countryside and
towns: many are familiar - like Lucca, Siena, Milan, the
northern lakes, to name a few - while many are not.
Mixed in with video there are also still images of artworks
by Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli and Giotto, then,
again, 360-degree videos of the insides of famous Italian
theaters, like La Scala in Milan, La Fenice in Venice and San
Carlo in Naples.
There are sequences - some video, some images - showcasing
Italian excellence in manufacturing, design, fashion (including
textiles, pret-à-porter and shoes), wine and food, and - of
course - flyovers of centuries-old vineyards and peeks inside
the most famous Italian hotels and resorts.
While it is not about brands, some - including, for
example, Ferrari, Kartell and Technogym - are easy to spot.
Hosted in a 350-square meter wooden architectural
structure, created by Studio Cerri&Associati, Panorama will be
open to viewing from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM every day, for free,
from May 21 through to the end of Expo on October 31.
According to project director-curator Davide Rampelli, the
project is the brainchild of Andrea Illy, the president of
Italian luxury goods makers' associationFondazioneAltagamma and
president of Illycaffè.
"The idea [for Panorama] was born from encounters and
dialogs one and a half years ago with Illy, who was looking for
a really beautiful way to represent Expo," Rampelli said during
the press presentation Wednesday.
Panoramas - round rooms whose walls present drawings of
360-degree views, recreating the illusion of a landscape - were
a popular form of entertainment in the 18th century and have
been a feature of all Universal Exhibitions since the first one
in London, in 1851.
Elaborating on the concept, Rampelli explained that the
idea was to offer a new interpretation of the concept of beauty
as not only nature but "as everything that is the fruit of man's
ingenuity."
Aside from the beauty of the end product, Panorama - whose
backers include Italy's Ministry of Economic Development, the
Municipality of Milan, the Italian Chamber of Fashion, Expo
Milan 2015 and Fondazione Altagamma - is an example of what
collaboration between public and private institutions and actors
can achieve.
"Everyone worked together to realize something that
represents Italy," Rampelli said.
The project itself is an example of the creative talents
that set Italy apart and relied on the collaboration of art
directors, video producers, writers and drone operators, among
others.
"Three camera troupes worked incessantly, touring some 300
locations in Italy," Andrea Illy told ANSA in brief comments
following the presentation.
Panorama's future is already set beyond the closing of
Milan's Universal Exhibition.
"After the Expo, it will travel around the world. It is an
extraordinary business card for Italy," Illy said.
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