Tree of Life, day view

The Tree of Life is the symbol of the Italian Pavilion, a place for entertainment and a global icon. This impressive stage machinery was raised in record time thanks to the valuable work of its sponsors: Coldiretti, Orgoglio Brescia and Pirelli. It represents the importance of embedding roots into the past and traditions in order to open up to a future full of culture, innovation and fruitful collaboration among the various populations.

In fact, the Italian Pavilion is not just a physical structure made up of architecture and spaces, but it is also a narration, a simple and immediate story which defines the spirit that places our nation at the center of Expo Milano 2015: a path which finds its gran finale in the symbol of the Tree.

Following the metaphor of the breeding ground, the Pavilion becomes the nursery, the humus of resources in which the Tree embeds its roots into: experience, knowledge, culture, material and immaterial patrimony are our great “strengths” and our vital energy. The leafy branches of the Tree are nourished by this sap, which thanks to the wind and atmospheric agents, redistribute the seeds all over the world, in a symbolic gesture of participation, sharing and generosity.

The structure, designed by the creative director Marco Balich, buds from the search for a decidedly Italian symbol, representative of one of the most extraordinary periods of human genius: the Renaissance period. The architecture of the Tree, which technically represents an “extrusion” from Michelangelo’s floor in the Piazza del Campidoglio, reaches a height of 35 metres and its foliage widens out to about 42 metres.

The architecture is imposing and a crucial metaphor of allegory, it stands out against the sky and invites the visitor to lift his or her gaze and admire the surrounding beauty. A specially chosen sound track, three-dimensional effects, extraordinary plays of light and projections, guarantee the visitor an emotional experience like never before.