Bergamo's former industrial site becomes a major art hub

A former industrial site in Bergamo, Italy, has been transformed into a cultural center for contemporary art. The project, gres art 671, named after the state road 671 and the stoneware pipes once produced there, launched during Bergamo Brescia Capital of Culture 2023. Initiated by Gruppo Italmobiliare, the area's owner, in collaboration with Fondazione Pesenti, the regeneration was led by De8 Architetti and architect Mauro Piantelli. The 3,000-square-meter site, abandoned in the 2000s, now includes a 1,950-square-meter exhibition space, a conference room, a bistro, offices, and a 600-square-meter green area. Seven 10-meter-tall corten steel silos by Mario Nanni, lit by Viabizzuno, mark the entrance. The center opened on November 7, 2023, with an immersive exhibition by NONE Collective titled "Solarpunk," addressing climate change. The collective, founded in 2014 by Gregorio de Luca Comandini and Saverio Villirillo, presented three solar-powered installations: Solarium, a group therapy under 320 colored tubes; The bright side of the sun, a pyramid of 625 halogen lamps creating a 50-meter-diameter sphere illusion; and Disastro. Simulatore di deriva, a vibrating platform simulating a sea voyage. Carlo Pesenti, Italmobiliare's Managing Director and Fondazione Pesenti's President, emphasized the project's aim to regenerate the area while preserving its industrial history and fostering artistic and social development.