Book chronicles Sanremo Festival's iconic stage designs from 2009 to 2020

A new volume titled "Le scenografie" traces the history of stage designs for the Sanremo Music Festival from 2009 to 2020. Presented at the Ariston press room, the book highlights the fusion of arts and craftsmanship behind the event. Legendary set designer Gaetano Castelli, who worked on 18 editions and returned in 2020 after an eight-year absence, describes the Ariston as a magical theater requiring deep knowledge of stage technology. For 2020, Castelli drew inspiration from an "Oscar night" atmosphere, with sets that recede for performers and reappear after. The book covers the 2018 white-themed design by Emanuela Trixie Zitkowsy symbolizing artistic purity, Riccardo Bocchini's 2017 graphic research with over twenty configurations, and Francesca Montinaro's 2013 motorized staircase. Castelli and his daughter Maria Chiara's 2012 "Arca della Musica"—a 25-ton structure—is noted as unique. The 2020 edition focused on expanding space, continuing Castelli's mission since 1987 when he introduced the orchestra on a ten-meter-deep stage at Pippo Baudo's insistence. The book traces a shift from technological automation in 2009 to a return to theatrical essentiality in 2020, with Castelli emphasizing that technology must serve the scene, not replace it.