Milano Expo 2015
2015 is a very important year for Milano. After years of fervent preparations, discussions, and controversy, the Milano Expo 2015,”Feeding the Planet – Energy For Life” opened its doors at the end of May.
Of course, this being Italy, not everything was 100% ready, and the site for buying tickets had lots of glitches. Plus, the protesters that started with pacific demonstrations turned violent on opening day, starting a real riot, that burned and destroyed stores and streets.
Despite all this, the Expo went on as scheduled, and you could feel the excitement everywhere. Many areas of the city were decorated with flags or banners, and many signs were spread all over the city to direct visitors. New project were finished, like the Darsena or the improvements at the Malpensa airport. New structures were created for info and shopping in front of the Castello Sforzesco, where last year grew a corn field, to kick off the final preparations. I am not sure they really add much to the square, so hopefully they will be gone after n this year.
Since I landed in Milano, everyone, and I mean everyone, was urging me to go visit it. Honestly, I was not that interested. It seemed to be a big waste of time, and I postponed it. On the last day in town, before the beach, I finally decided to go. Thank you everyone who pushed me to visit, especially dad, who also provided me with a very useful guide. Thank you dad!
The expo was really amazing. The architecture alone was worth the visit. Between individual countries and clusters there were about 96 pavilions. Click the map to see all the participants or go to the participants link.
On the official site you can also read details on each participating country, in the countries link. While most countries completely ignored the theme and used the expo as a chance to display their main products and to encourage tourism, the few pavilions I was able to visit were very interesting. My criteria for choosing what to see, was: no line, I am going inside.
Though I did not really planned it, I arrived, with a comfortable subway ride, around 1pm. I guess that is the dead hour, because there was no line to buy tickets or to enter. My visit started, as recommended, from Padiglione 0, where different areas showed some of the issues we are facing as we try to feed the planet. I loved the wall of seeds: different sized cases, each containing a different seed. It is a cool idea I would like to try at home
After a great start, I took the free shuttle bus and went all the way to the end, trying to go against traffic. I guess it did help a bit, but of course there were still plenty of people and that turned into a real river, after 7pm, when prices drop to 5 Euro. All pavilions are flanking the main road, Decumano, where parades, installations and special events happen. It was covered, fortunately, as it was absolutely sweltering. I do have to admit that, even if the signage was horrifying and impossible to decipher, the organization was excellent: shuttles passing every few minutes, lots of free water stations (including sparkling water), lots of clean bathrooms, and plenty of food.
Marocco’s was one of my favorite pavilions: besides the beautifully detailed outside building, and garden, the interior was a feast of colors, produce, and wonderful smells that immediately immersed you in the beauty of country.
My absolutely favorite was, however, the one from the Republic of Korea.
Unfortunately it was difficult to take pictures to capture the feel of this pavilion full of amazing technology, so I resorted to the web to grab some images.
It felt like a modern art exhibit, and it followed the expo’s theme to boot. This youTube video gives you an idea.
There were many other interesting pavilions. The Netherlands created a carnival like exhibit, Oman recreated a traditional building, inside and out and Poland created its area out of “apple crates”.
The Italian pavilion, situated at the middle of the Expo, close to smaller, regional exhibits, was a beauty from the outside, but the 2+ hours necessary to visit it made me skip it.
Other pavilions I would have liked to see, but I had to skip, due to huge lines, were Germany, Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Arab Emirates. France, instead, had no lines, and I can see why: it really wasn’t much.
I also liked the Indonesian pavilion, both for the architecture and the interior design, even if, like many others, it looked more like a tourists’ office.
The British pavilion was supposed to make you feel like a bee, starting with an eye-level flower garden, and finishing with a structure that was supposed to make you feel inside a beehive. Mah! Maybe if they had added buzzing sounds…
A special mention must go to the Nepal’s pavilion: it featured incredibly detailed carvings, and detailing, that really made you feel like you were there. It would have certainly been the most beautiful one, but it was sadly left unfinished, when the earthquake hit, and most of the artisans had to go back home. Even in its unfinished state it was really impressive and a real work of art.
What about the USA pavilion? I have to say that, although it had much welcomed misters and presented an extraordinary vertical garden – even if not quite as impressive as Israel – the American pavilion really disappointed.
Following a sloping walkway, you were met by Obama’s message about the importance of the Expo’s theme. A good start.
However, it was not followed up by anything substantial. A few multimedia screens that offered almost no info, and a Walgreen display (?) was pretty much all there was to see, if you exclude the nice terrace overlooking the whole expo. Very disappointing. Almost as disappointing as seeing mcDonald’s and Coke’s presence at a fair centered on food as energy for life.
A curious exhibit I got to visit was the New Holland’s Pavilion, which is actually an American company, supposedly dedicated to sustainable farming machines.Outside the slanted wall, sported a green grass field, a fake pond and a tractor, perched at an impossible angle.
Inside, they had three huge machines to display. and climb on, including a combine (hello Frank): how could I resist?
Another great feature of the expo was the tree of life. An inspiring structure in its own right, it presented water shows throughout the day. The fountains and decorations were coordinated to music.
It was way more impressive at night, I suppose, but I could not stay that late, so I settled on watching the show on youTube
All in all I was there for almost 8 hours! Not bad for something I was not interested into seeing! I got home exhausted, but I really enjoyed myself. After some packing for the beach I could finally rest. So, take it from a skeptic like me: if you are in Milano before October 10, do not miss the Expo 2015.
Comments are off for this post