Harry Potter travelling show in Milan

(ANSA) - Milan, January 31 - The magical world of Harry Potter is coming to The Steam Factory (La Fabbrica del Vapore) in Milan starting May 12 and running through September 9. The travelling show, called "Harry Potter: The Exhibition", includes thousands of items from the famed films based on the world created by author J.K. Rowling, including Harry's magic wand and his Nimbus 2000 racing broom. Milan Deputy Mayor Anna Scavuzzo called the show "like a second Last Supper for us", speaking about the highly anticipated exhibition's importance for the city. The exhibition had its debut in 2009 in Chicago and this will be the first time it has travelled to Italy.
    It has already been visited by more than four million people in 17 cities worldwide, including New York, Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai and Madrid.
    It includes thousands of props and costumes taken directly from the film productions, which will be displayed across nine rooms comprising 1,600 square metres of space, with scenes recreated from the eight films of the book series.
    Visitors to the exhibition are divided by the "Sorting Hat" into four houses, just like students in the book's Hogwarts School: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
    The exhibition contains the Hogwarts Express, common rooms for the houses, rooms for Potions, Divination and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
    There's also a Quidditch area, based on the sport played on flying brooms featured in the books, the Forbidden Forest, and the Hogwarts Great Hall.
    There are also interactive exhibits, such as throwing the Quaffle, a ball used in the game of Quidditch.
    Visitors will be able to see close-up many of the film's famous items, including Harry's glasses and uniform, the Marauder's Map, and the Philosopher's Stone, as well as many other props and costumes.
    The event's Italian organisers, D'Alessandro e Galli, said visitors should set aside at least an hour in order to experience everything the show has to offer, and said the break-even point will be 250,000 visitors.
    Ticket pre-sales will start on February 3 on the Radio101 website, and on February 10 elsewhere.