We are in the midst of the XXV Winter Olympic Games, which this year are particularly heartfelt and even more popular with the public because they are taking place right here in Italy. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are the main cities, but the map of destinations covers several locations in Lombardy, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto Adige: for the first time, the Olympics are presenting a polycentric and multiregional model.
This is a new, widespread format that is being replicated by Casa Italia, the traditional home of Italian athletes, headquarters of CONI (the Italian National Olympic Committee) and hub of sporting celebrations, which is open to the public for the first time. In line with the competitions, Casa Italia is divided into three distinct locations: Triennale Milano, the Aquagranda Livigno Olympic Training Center, and Farsettiarte in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The common thread linking the “houses” is the theme “Musa,” a tribute to the inspirational role that Italy has played for centuries in the global imagination and culture, a reference to the beauty, history, and creativity that make Italy an international benchmark. Continuing an initiative launched in 2016, Casa Italia has evolved year after year from a simple Hospitality House to an all-round cultural project, capable of recounting Italian culture and the country’s system through its artistic, design, and value excellence, a place where sport, art, design, and architecture (but also food) coexist perfectly.
The three locations are also united by the architectural and interior design project, which interprets the theme of the Muse starting from the mountain landscape, understood as a fundamental natural and symbolic element: a privileged setting for the Grand Tours of the 18th century and, at the same time, the theater of winter sports and the Olympics.
References to the mountains, with their materials, colors, and alpine atmospheres, pervade the interiors, interpreted by the furnishings of numerous partner companies: Edra, B&B Italia, Ethimo, Glas Italia, Poltronova, Riva 1920, Gufram, Meritalia®, Impatia, and Flos for lighting. Edra, in particular, celebrates its decade-long collaboration with Casa Italia with a special edition of the Grinza armchair, designed by the Campana brothers, created in a total white version dedicated to this edition of the Games.
In the architecture, echoes of traditional structures, such as bivouacs and ski lifts, emerge in the use of modular, serial, and dynamic forms, capable of evoking movement, speed, and technical spirit. The dialogue with nature is not limited to a simple visual opening, but is constructed thanks to architectural devices that “frame” the landscape, making it an integral part of the spatial experience.
Photo © Pietro Savorelli, CONI
