Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, December 6, 2020 - With the lighting of the Coca-Cola Gift Tree in Piazza Duomo, "Christmas of the Trees" begins, the project born from an idea by Marco Balich and donated to the Municipality of Milan by the Bracco Foundation. Tomorrow all 20 trees will be lit and, from Piazza Duomo to the Greco district, from Piazza XXV Aprile to CityLife, the Christmas atmosphere will bring a bit of serenity to Milan in such a difficult year for the city and for the entire planet .  
 
The Coca-Cola Gift Tree is accompanied by an invitation to support the Food Bank Network, to remember, even more in such a complex year, how important it is to donate to those in need. For the fourth consecutive year, the company is, in fact, alongside Banco Alimentare with a project that will allow the collection of food products for at least 2 million meals. 
With a poetic and sustainable message, the large central tree and the 18 small live trees surrounding it will be replanted at the end of the Christmas period, creating a green legacy for the Lombardy capital. Hundreds of lights will make the installation visible from different points of the city, to communicate the living energy of the heart of Milan even from a distance. 
 
“Thanks to the Bracco Foundation, Marco Balich and his team and to Coca-Cola, the heart of Milan lights up with a tree that transmits the joy of solidarity, fundamental for the well-being of a community and so important to overcome this very difficult year together – declares Roberta Guaineri, councilor for Tourism and Quality of life –. A message of hope, the first of many trees that thanks to this project will bring the warmth of the Christmas spirit to the squares and streets of our city." 
 
 “It is beautiful that on Sant'Ambrogio, the day in which the Christmas tree is put up in the homes of the Milanese, 20 artistic installations are lit in many squares of the city, including peripheral ones – states Diana Bracco, President of the Bracco Foundation – Even with the necessary precautions, now is the time to react and restore confidence and serenity, especially to the younger ones. The Bracco Foundation, which this year celebrates its first 10 years of activity, is proud to make Christmas for the Milanese less dark, giving the city a project of beauty and rebirth with a strong social value". 
 
“We have learned to stay close even when we are distant - declares Giuliana Mantovano, Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Italia -. The Christmas Tree in Piazza Duomo aims to be a symbol to celebrate the heart of solidarity of the city and how the spirit of sharing is even more important today. We invite everyone to join us in supporting the Food Bank to make this Christmas special for those in need." 
 
 
YESMILANO PROMOTES THE PROJECT WITH A VIDEO BY STUDIO BOZZETTO & CO. 
 
The “Christmas of Trees” is promoted by YesMilano with a communication campaign to bring Milan home to all those visitors who in this difficult year cannot live the unique experience of Milanese Christmas. 
 
An animated short film tells of a magical exchange of joy and beauty, between trees and citizens, which lights up Milan with the Christmas lights. A tree lights up in the center of the city, and its branches, which branch out across the many neighborhoods of Milan, are decorated by the Milanese who give light to their city. The story is entrusted to the communication agency Connexia and the pencil of Studio Bozzetto & Co., 60 years of professional history that has written the history of animation in Italy and around the world. 
 
The communication campaign launched with the YesMilano brand is a project by Milano&Partners, the promotion agency of the city of Milan, promoted by the Municipality of Milan and the Milan Monza Brianza Lodi Chamber of Commerce together with SEA, Fondazione Fiera Milano, Fiera Milano Congressi, ATM, Pirelli, TIM, Italian Stock Exchange, Confcommercio Milan, Lodi, Monza and Brianza, Italian Investment Fund. 
 
"In such a delicate and complex moment – ​​declares Elena Vasco, General Secretary of the Milan Chamber of Commerce –, Christmas must become an opportunity to strengthen ourselves around the values ​​that have always made Milan great: industriousness and solidarity. For This is why as the Chamber of Commerce we shared the "Christmas of Trees" initiative - promoted together with the Municipality and thanks to the contribution of the Bracco Foundation - focused on the meaning of the tree, which draws energy from the depths of its roots to spread wealth around itself. Just as our businesses know that their strength is based on their roots in the territory and their growth is profoundly linked to that of the community where they operate, because - as we have learned from the emergency we are still experiencing - no one can do it alone and our future lies in building relationships of exchange and reciprocity. 
 
“Milan branches out. House after House.” was conceived by the communication agency Connexia and produced in collaboration with Studio Bozzetto. 
 
“In a difficult year like this, the magic of Christmas takes on an even more special meaning – comments Bruno Bozzetto, founder of Studio Bozzetto &Co –. The history of our firm has always been closely linked to the city of Milan. It was therefore truly a pleasure for our entire working group to be able to gather the spirit of the initiative put in place by the Municipality and represent it, giving life to an animated product that embodies all the typical elements of "Milaneseness": the indissoluble bond of the Milanese with the city, its artisan tradition, the continuous search for quality and the constant desire to do well, always and in any case, even in complex and challenging situations like the ones we are experiencing". 
 
The video, lasting 30", will be visible from tomorrow throughout the city, broadcast both through audiovisual communication channels and through billboards, online newspapers and local TV, and starting today on the social channels of the Municipality, Chamber of Commerce , YesMilano. 

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