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Brotherhood. That’s the foundation upon which the “Casa Italia” (Italy House) at Paris 2024 has been realised.
PIERRE DE COUBERTIN It is located at the Pré Catelan, a Napoleon III-style pavilion nestled in Bois de Boulogne, Paris’ largest park. The place where, on the evening of June 23, 1984, Pierre de Coubertin made a toast to his colleagues, some hours after his idea of reviving the Olympic Games was adopted on the eighth and final day of the International Olympic Congress, at the grand auditorium of the Sorbonne. This symbolic setting
ART Surrounded by greenery, Casa Italia is a hidden gem in the middle of the park, enchanting right from the entrance. In this symbolic setting, Beatrice Bertini, the artistic director of the Casa Italia 2024 project, explained that the concept of the hospitality house is “Ensemble”, which conveys the message of unity in diversity through Italian art and architecture. One can easily see the impeccable attention to details in each of the art pieces adorning every room in the Casa Italia, and more importantly, what each of them represents.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE The antechamber is embellished with one of the biggest pieces of art in the building: Panorama Italia by Giovanni Bonotto, a tapestry made by the master weavers of the factory Lenta Bonotto with mechanical shuttle looms built in 1956. It is a textile fresco of the beautiful landscape of Italy, showcasing the country’s genius protagonists, traditional dishes, symbolic architecture, and successful entrepreneurial innovations on one side. The other side has been reserved for Italy’s Paris 2024 Olympic medallists. What is even more interesting is the fact that the design was made with the application of Artificial Intelligence and it is made up of yarns that were obtained from the recycling of plastic waste.
THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD Visitors are treated to a stunning exhibition in the next room with the works of Margerita Moscardini, Julie Polidoro, Vicenzo Agnetti, Alberto di Fabio, Fabio Viale and Claire Fontaine. The Polidoro’s “Tutti i paesi grandi uguali", gives one a deeper perspective of the world we live in, depicting togetherness amid different cultures and languages. This notion is also portrayed in Riccardo Previdi’s “Fun with Flags” which accompanies you as you climb the stairs - each piece infuses different flags to make them one.
FLYING CARPET Another incredible piece is the “Tappeto Volante” of 2000 by Stalker, a group of Italian artists and architects. The Flying Carpet, made up of 41472 hemp ropes with copper terminals, is a reproduction of the ceiling of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo. “This ceiling, reproduced by the Stalker group in 2000, together with a group of Kurdish refugees, a Roman and a Nigerian, gives us the possibility of talking about being together when working. These guys together recreated the ceiling of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, which for us is the unique symbol in the world of four cultures that meet: the Greek, the Latin, the Norman and the Arab."
In the showcase to the right of the Tappeto Volante, is exhibited for the first time the special equipment: armour, helmet and sword of the Corazzieri Regiment, the first symbols of the Republic.
SUSTAINABILITY Bertini pointed out that the Casa Italia 2024 project was designed with sustainability in mind, as all the materials that it is composed of are included within a process of recovery and recycling.
ITALIAN STAR CHEF AND UNIQUE GARDEN It is a place that projects Italian excellence in every corner, from the kitchen, with the star chef Davide Oldani, to the garden, which features plants that were cultivated a year ago and were brought from Italy, like oranges, pomegranates, agapanthus and cactus.
CELEBRATING THE ATHLETES Italian athletes and their guests are given a sense of home and celebrated in Casa Italia as they live their Olympic dream in Paris, France.
Chibuogwu Nnadiegbulam and Stefania Baraldo - AIPS Media
