Waiting for Magic

URBAN UP - UNIPOL GROUP – CHRISTMAS IN MILAN LIGHTS UP WITH WAITING FOR MAGIC

Urban Up - Unipol Group had chosen to celebrate the Christmas holidays together with the city of Milan, with which it has significantly strengthened its ties in recent years.
Under its brand Urban Up - which indicates the Group’s real estate activities - Unipol had been a significant presence in the schedule of events promoted by the Municipality of Milan in two important Milan venues: Piazza del Duomo and Torre GalFa, the iconic tower owned by the Group, today undergoing redevelopment.
The presence of Urban Up Unipol had been a presence combining innovation and tradition in terms of sharing, growth, and closeness to people, which has always set apart the Group’s mission. The expectations and the “magic” permeating the holiday season became the guiding thread of the Group’s presence from late November up to 6 January 2019.

“Under the brand Waiting for Magic, Unipol will take the field with three important initiatives” - said Alberto Federici, Unipol Director of Corporate Communication and Media Relations - “which will further consolidate the Group’s strong link with the city”. “A link - continued Ebi Grassi - UnipolSai Head of Real Estate Initiatives - also created thanks to new real estate projects and redevelopment projects that Urban Up is completing in Milan and which have been accompanying the evolution of a city that is becoming an increasingly important player in the international scenario”.
The first appointment under the brand Waiting for Magic was the installation of the Torre GalFa Christmas Tree. To promote the Tower, which is now entering the final phase of its redevelopment, a luminous installation in the shape of a Christmas tree had been placed on the tower facade from 29 November to 6 January 2019, making it the tallest Christmas tree in Milan. At the top of the tree, adorned with 13 rows of about 80 meters each, there was a star of 4 meters in diameter, made up of 2,000 LEDs. The city streets Via Fara and Via Galvani adjacent to GalFa and the new coating of the tower’s construction site hoarding shone with additional lights. In total, more than two kilometres of illuminations made this corner of Milan shine.

Another important initiative was the lighting up of the Piazza Duomo Christmas Tree. This year Urban Up Unipol had given Milan the now traditional Piazza Duomo Christmas tree. It was a spruce about 25 metres tall, which had been transported from Val di Sole in Trentino directly to the square.

The tree, decorated with blue ornaments and illuminated by a total of about 35,000 LED spotlights, was lit up on 5 December at 6.15pm.
But the true novelty, always branded Waiting for Magic, was the innovative Christmas Calendar in Piazza Duomo. From 1 to 24 December, the building Palazzo dei Portici Meridionali became a huge screen (60 meters wide by 20 meters high, for a total of 1,200 sqm), hosting a video projection that will consist in the contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional advent calendar. The video lasted 6 minutes and had been projected 3 times a day every day from 6.30pm. It told the story of a reindeer, a symbol in the Christmas tradition, which was born in Milan and as it grew up it walked through the city passing by some of its most iconic sites, Duomo, Castello Sforzesco, Arco della Pace, Darsena, Torre Velasca, and Torre GalFa, the latter two of which Unipol Group real estate assets.
The reindeer’s growth metaphorically represented the growth of Milan to which Urban Up Unipol today is contributing significantly through the redevelopment of some of the most representative buildings in the city and the construction of a new tower at Porta Nuova, which will enrich the Milan skyline. The song “Baby, Please Come Home” rearranged by the orchestra Musici Estensi was the soundtrack of the event. On each of the 24 days before Christmas, the video was focused on a different musician.
Music, lights, and innovation. To make the magic of waiting truly special.