Milan Expo 2015: today, Italy needs the same determination and spirit of unity from that time

Five years after the opening of the Milan Expo, the key figures of that extraordinary adventure share their pride and the commitment of those days on social media, which can be a source of inspiration for us even today. "I still remember that 1st of May like it was yesterday," says Diana Bracco, then President of Expo 2015 and General Commissioner for the Italian Pavilion, "and especially the emotion of the first Tree of Life light and water music show. The work, the outcome of Italian creativity, was built in record time by the craftsmen and entrepreneurs from the Brescia consortium, to whom we feel particularly near during this difficult time of the Covid-19 epidemic."

Appearing in millions of selfies, the Tree, throughout the six months of the Exposition, proved able to inspire everyone: from the youngest visitors to global leaders, who never tired of admiring it from the Italian Pavilion’s terrace. It still stands today beside the building that houses the researchers and scientists from Human Technopole. Conceived by Marco Balich and the design studio Gio Forma, the Tree of Life recalled the paving design from the Piazza del Campidoglio by Michelangelo – a symbol of one of the greatest periods of human ingenuity: the Renaissance. "It is a symbol of the power of Italian beauty," states Diana Bracco. "Like the Milan Expo as a whole, which has relaunched the image of our country in the world, the Tree of Life has been able to embody Italy’s newfound pride. The same determination that allowed us to realize the Expo, the hardest thing I’ve ever accomplished in my life, must now guide us in the fight to start again with renewed energy following this health crisis. We have to rediscover that pride and spirit that we know how to demonstrate in trying times, and which make us unique."