Clouds of light for the city of Bergamo

Catellani & Smith illuminated Piazza Mascheroni, in Upper Bergamo, with an iconic installation

From 6th December to 6th January 2015, Upper Bergamo embraced winter and hosted a series of unforgettable events, guided tours and appointments.  Everyone could stroll through the streets of the centre and take part in workshops and cultural meetings, but also enjoy the entertainment, music, perfumes and flavours, which they experienced with curiosity in the streets of upper Bergamo among the historic and artistic delights of the province.

For the occasion, Catellani & Smith created a striking and spectacular installation in Piazza Mascheroni, in the centre of upper Bergamo.
Fil de Fer, Catellani & Smith’s most iconic light, recognised throughout the world and found in very prestigious public and private spaces including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, was shaped to give its spherical body a different form, larger and more elongated, creating a cloud that was studded and animated with white lights.
Like small nebulae, galaxies or constellations, the new handcrafted Fil de Fer were imbued with a magical charm that perfectly conveyed the idea of Christmas atmosphere required by the initiative.
The metal, woven and folded by hand with a passion and experience that only time can develop and enhance, gave life to unique artistic elements that went beyond the concept of simple ‘luminous body’.

«Upper Bergamo is Christmas 2014. Walking through a real story» proved to be a unique project. Created at the behest of businessmen of the ‘Comunità delle Botteghe di Città Alta’ association, it was sponsored by the Municipal Authority of Bergamo and dedicated to those living or staying in upper Bergamo. It was an important workshop, a project of social cohesion with an event-packed calendar, which was supported by a great many organisations: from the Municipal Authority of Bergamo to the Diocese, but also, for example, the Seminarino oratory, the Nuns of consecrated Orders, the Diocesan Missionary Centre, the Botanical Garden and the Museum of Natural Science, the Bergamo Su e Giù associations and the City of Bergamo Tourist Guides and various private partners, all united in involving and thrilling everyone, guiding them through the palaces and gardens of one of the most romantic towns in Europe.

Catellani & Smith has confirmed, once again, its ‘transformist’ essence by creating volumes of light that are able to satisfy the lighting needs of increasingly diverse, but always special, cultural projects.