DUBAI: Italian luxury fashion label Dolce & Gabbana has designed an installation that celebrates Italian artistic heritage at the country’s pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The undulating baroque-style structure is typical of the architecture of the 18th century gardens of southern Italy and it stands near the pavilion’s botanical garden.
The elegant octagonal columns and the seats are made from brickwork covered with 1200 finely crafted and hand-painted majolica tiles by Sicilian master potters with images of floral interweaving, bougainvillea fronds, citrus fruits and bucolic landscapes.
Each tile is made from a mixture of clay and Sicilian lava stone powder and decorated with natural colors obtained from mineral oxides.
The installation aims to be a symbol of the skills of Italian artistic masters — something the founders consider to be a priceless intangible heritage that is under threat of being lost with the advance of new technologies.