GREEN REVOLUTION – Fiat is transformed, and with it the former factory of Lingotto, universal symbol of the Italian automobile capital. The assembly line stopped working in 1982 and the first generation Lancia Delta was the last model to leave the Turin factory in via Nizza. The roof remains of the original layout of the former industrial district, which over the last forty years has been transformed into a large trade fair and commercial center. Until yesterday the company’s disused test track, from today it hosts hosts House 500, a spin-off museum of the Agnelli Art Gallery dedicated to the history and future of the Fiat 500, e Track 500, an asphalted circuit at high altitude, surrounded by the greenery of over 40,000 plants, reserved exclusively for the battery-powered models of the Stellantis group.
GOALS THAT GO BEYOND THE CAR – On the occasion the Fiat he also unveiled the New 500 (RED) (in the pictures), declined in the sedan, X and L versions and the first car in the world born in collaboration with the non-profit organization active in the fight against HIV in the countries most affected by the virus such as Ghana, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia. Guest of honor on the renovated roof of the Lingotto, a meeting point between industrial archeology and green architecture, Bono, U2 frontman, co-founder of (RED) and lover of the Fiat brand, a true family passion. The goal of the new terrace, emphasizes Olivier Francois, goes beyond the simple promotion of the product: “Here we plant the seeds of our future – explained the manager -. We do it in a place that has a great symbolic value for us. A hundred years ago it was born as a secret and inaccessible test track, now it has become a garden open to all Turin residents, with the aim of creating culture, helping the community and promoting the fight against climate change ”.
THE WORDS OF JOHN AND GENEVA ELKANN – “From today Turin has a new museum and a new garden open to all “, said the president of Stellantis, John Elkann, recalling how the investments made in Mirafiori in the electric and the green transformation of the Lingotto are” the sign of the group’s commitment to guide with confidence the change that the automotive sector to offer the community the benefits of sustainable and avant-garde mobility “. For Ginevra Elkann, number one of the Pinacoteca Agnelli, the Lingotto is a “magical place, a symbol of Italian industrialization, which has been able to transform itself over time to respond to new needs. Here today we find all the elements of the history of Fiat and Turin, projected into a new vision of the world. With the new Pinacoteca, the Casa 500 and the Pista 500 and the large suspended park, also designed to accommodate sculptures, the Lingotto draws the shared idea of a new future: more aware, more sustainable, and always in dialogue with art and the environment “.
THE MUSEUM – The museum area House 500 (photo above), designed by the team of Lab71 architects, unites the three generations of the Turin city car. The exhibition itinerary, divided into seven thematic areas, occupies an area of over 700 square meters. The first section, called Legacy, refers to the early days of the project with images and archival films; the second, Made of Italy, is divided into the Boom, Ego and Ethical spaces and brings together twelve industrial products that have made Italian design known throughout the world; the third, Social relevance, traces the history of the Fiat 500 from 1957 to the present day; the fourth, The poster collection, summarizes the most important advertising campaigns in twelve prints; the fifth, 3 generations, illustrates the technical and stylistic evolution of the car; the sixth, Digital Counter, is a kind of interactive diary with interviews and testimonies of the people who contributed to the success of the model; the seventh and last, Foreseeing the future, retraces the adventure of the iconic Turin subcompact, intertwining it with the great changes that the Lingotto has faced in the course of its more than one hundred year history.
THE GARDEN – Conceived as a linear park contemporary divided into 28 large islands, the garden – made up of more than 40,000 plants belonging to 300 species, mostly herbaceous perennials with very fast growth and yield – covers over 7,000 square meters of the 27,000 available on the roof of the Lingotto. For the cultivation of trees and flowers, new conception techniques have been adopted aimed at reducing the consumption of water and fertilizers. This has favored the birth and development of numerous species of butterflies and beetles, contributing to the creation of a new urban biodiversity heritage. In homage to the Piedmont hazelnut, the main ingredient of the renowned gianduia cream, the garden hosts a hazelnut grove. There is also an educational area in which to study natural dyeing and sections dedicated to edible species, herbaceous and shrubby plants.
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