Urban Up | Unipol supports the city: from the centre to the suburbs wit #Illuminiamoinsieme
An extensive lighting project created by Urban Up | Unipol which submitted the winning bid to the Municipality of Milan.
The symbolic job of switching on the lights will be given to the notes of Raffaele Kohler, the trumpet player who moved Italians during the lockdown by playing ‘O mia bela Madunina’.
Over 3.5 km of roads and footpaths, buildings and facades ready to be lit up - until 6 January 2021 - from the centre to the suburbs of Milan to give a positive message at a difficult time for the city and the entire country. #Illuminiamoinsieme was made possible through the efforts of Urban Up | Unipol which, along with the technical direction of Max Up, submitted a bid to the Municipal Authority for Commerce and Productive Activities of Milan, in association with Confcommercio of Milan.
From the Christmas tree with lights in Gratosoglio to the LED lights in corso Buenos Aires, via Palestro, corso Venezia with its Customs House, corso Vittorio Emanuele, corso di Porta Romana, passing by Torre GalFa, to the cranes in Porta Nuova as far as the recently renovated building in via De Castillia, over 180 thousand blue and white LEDs for a total of 12,000 metres of power lines will light up at the same time all over Milan on 1 December to brighten up Christmas for Milan residents, sending a message of solidarity and closeness. #Illuminiamoinsieme is not just a lighting project: the lights are a symbol of hope to illuminate a future that is still uncertain and dark for many people, and to encourage Milan to start back again, which can be done with the help of everyone. 4 km of lights will unite the city from north to south, wrapping it up in a big luminous hug.
The symbolic job of lighting up Milan for the holidays will be given to the notes of Raffaele Kohler, the trumpet player who moved Italians during the lockdown by playing ‘O mia bela Madunina’ from his apartment window. This time, Kohler will play from the rooftop of the Torre GalFa, symbolically spreading the soul-stirring melody of this Milan song to the entire city, to which notes the lights of #Illuminiamoinsieme will light up like magic. Once again music will act as a universal language that can unite people and break down those barriers that have been weighing so heavily on our day-to-day lives. A video will be made of Kohler’s “solitary” performance and published on the Group’s social networks.
Cristina Tajani, Councillor for the Municipal Authority for Work, Commerce and Productive Activities of Milan said “the cooperation between the Municipal Authority and Unipol meant that we could light up large areas of the city together, enhancing both the main commercial thoroughfare and more outlying areas such as Gratosoglio, even at a time of particular difficulty for Milan due to the Covid emergency. I believe that the creation of such a comprehensive light project represents a sincere gesture by Unipol of its regard and hope for Milan and its citizens”.
Giuseppe Lobalsamo - Real Estate Department Manager of the Unipol Group stated “#Illuminiamoinsieme will be the message passing through the streets of many districts of Milan to emphasise the symbolic value that illumination represents at Christmas time. This year, we want these lights to express our solidarity, a fundamental value of our Group which has always supported the City of Milan and its districts with significant redevelopment and renovation projects. We have been busy with the INoltre project for some time now to enhance the value of the Milan suburbs, transforming them into new places that are all about inclusion, social development and a new identity”.
Gabriel Meghnagi, President of the road association network of Confcommercio of Milan said “In 2020 Milan which needs Christmas lights more than ever mainly as a sign of optimism, Unipol’s commitment takes on even greater significance. It also spares commercial enterprises from expenses and duties at a difficult time for them”.
With #Illuminiamoinsieme Urban Up | Unipol wanted to “recount” their support for the city of Milan again, illuminating both their own buildings as well as piazzas, roads and iconic places in the urban environment of Milan at a time when they appear emptier and quieter. This project is a further addition to the commitment that the Group has been making to support the public, the territories and the local communities to deal with the ongoing healthcare emergency.
The #Illuminiamoinsieme project in the central areas of Milan will reach the suburbs, in the Gratosoglio district, with the creation of a 25-metre high Christmas tree, lit up by using the facade of the Unipol building in via dei Missaglia. The De Castillia 23 building will be added to this, lighting up with an immense tricolour Italian flag alternating with the white and blue lights thanks to its amazing lighting system, providing permanent lighting to the Porta Nuova area from 4.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m. The Torre GalFa rooftop will also feature a tricolour Italian flag alternating with the blue lights which will be visible from the whole city. In addition, the cranes at the Torre Unipol worksite in Porta Nuova will be lit up in blue, towering over the Milanese nights as they grow increasingly high.
The urban areas covered by the project:
- Via dei Missaglia-(Gratosoglio) - lighted christmas tree
- Corso di Porta Romana - illuminated
- Caselli di porta Venezia - illuminated
- Corso di Porta Venezia - illuminated
- Corso Buenos Aires - illuminated
- Via Palestro - illuminated
- Corso Vittorio Emanuele - illuminated
- Torre GalFa - rooftop
- De Castillia 23 - entire building
- Unipol Tower - worksite cranes
The numbers:
- Over 3.5 km of illumination
- 181,400 LEDs used
- 12,000 metres of power lines stretched along the illuminated thoroughfares
- 29 kW used in total for the entire project
- Energy consumption 7 times lower than incandescent lamps (210 kW compared to 29 kW) with energy savings of over 85%