Italy has broken ground on its pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai which will feature a a real-size copy of Michelangelo's David
Italy has broken ground on its pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai which will feature a a real-size copy of Michelangelo’s David, one of the world's most famous pieces of art.
The David will be positioned inside one of the wooden structures inspired by Renaissance theatres.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Expo site in the presence of Stefano Buffagni, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Italy, Nicola Lener, Italian Ambassador to the UAE, Najeeb Al Ali, executive director of Expo Bureau and Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner General of Italy.
The Italy pavilion, located in proximity to the UAE pavilion on the "cultural spine" of the Expo site, will cover an area of 3,500 square metres and reaching a height of almost 27 metres.
Italy expects an estimated 28,000 visitors on average daily for a total of over five million visitors during the six months of the Expo that will conclude in April 2021.
The pavilion will feature a "garden of stories", and the building will use the hulls of three ships incorporated in the roof of the exhibition area.
The exhibition route of Italy at Expo 2020 Dubai takes the visitor on a journey through narrative architectures - the Belvedere, where beauty can be glimpsed through an octagonal window opening onto Italy’s finest landscapes, the Short Stories space, focusing on Italian excellence in know-how and expertise, the Innovation Study Centre, offering an immersive journey into the latest frontiers of Italian research, and lastly the Theatre of Memory.
Through galleries lined with gilded Byzantine-style mosaics, the journey ends with the eyes cast upon the work that perhaps more than any other embodies the excellence of Italian culture and art - Michelangelo’s David.
