Ecological Banners at Palazzo Zani Celebrate Centenary of Saiarino Pumping Station

Key facts

• Exhibition OCCHIO! Sguardi sul territorio opens at Palazzo Zani, Bologna, during ART CITY Bologna 2025.
• The show celebrates the centenary of the Saiarino pumping station, inaugurated on June 13, 1925 by King Vittorio Emanuele III.
• Students from the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna created graphic banners on water, environment, biodiversity, and technology.
• The banners are displayed in the 16th-century courtyard of Palazzo Zani among 18th-century trompe-l'oeil.
• Visitors can vote for their favorite project; winner announced on March 22, World Water Day.
• Saiarino pumping station is located in Argenta, Ferrara province, within the Po Delta Regional Park.
• The complex includes the Chiavica Emissaria building, a liberty-style pump hall with six early 20th-century machines, and a thermal power plant with original boilers and ceramic alternators.
• A €40 million PNRR-funded upgrade aims to restore full capacity and modernize pumping systems at Saiarino and Vallesanta.
• The exhibition is part of the Innovation Design program by LAB.BRAINdesign (Valentina Downey and Patrizia Scarzella) for Bonifica Renana.
• The initiative has been selected for the ADI Design Index 2024, a precursor to the Compasso d'Oro award.