Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

From Piazza Duomo to Greco, the festive trees arrive. Guaineri: “Meaning of unity and solidarity”

Milan, November 21 2020 - Eighteen trees, eighteen places in the city ready to light up, for a Christmas full of hope, sustainability and solidarity. The municipal administration has selected the projects for "Il Natale degli Alberi", the initiative offered by the Bracco Foundation which decided to donate to the city a creative idea developed by Marco Balich and his company BWS. From Piazza Duomo, to the Greco district, from Piazza XXV Aprile to CityLife, the Christmas atmosphere wants to bring a bit of serenity to Milan in such a difficult year for the city and for the entire planet. The trees of this "Christmas of trees" are a sign of creativity but also bring various solidarity and sustainability initiatives from the various partners as a gift to the city.

“On behalf of the entire municipal administration – declares Roberta Guaineri, councilor for Tourism and Quality of Life – I heartily thank the Bracco Foundation, Marco Balich and all the sponsors who, with pure Ambrosian spirit, have decided to invest in the creation of these Christmas trees which with their lights and their effects will warm up the streets and squares of our city in the coming weeks. Taking on, in this difficult year, an even deeper meaning of unity and solidarity."

“I am very happy that so many companies responded to the appeal, demonstrating that they care about the destiny of Milan - states Diana Bracco, President of the Bracco Foundation -. Of course, the drama we are experiencing will leave its mark on each of us, but it is time to react and above all to restore people's confidence and serenity. The Christmas of the trees is a project of beauty and rebirth with a strong social value that will make Christmas 2020 for Milanese families less dark."

1. Piazza Duomo, Coca Cola

The large tree in Piazza Duomo sponsored by Coca Cola Italia will embody the energies of the city, representing its thousand souls. A load-bearing structure will house a series of real trees which, after the holidays, will be donated to be planted in various places in Milan. As evening approaches, the tree will light up, giving the square a show of lights, a green and colorful embrace that will become the symbol of Christmas this particular year, with an invitation to support the Food Bank.

2. Piazza XXV Aprile Accenture

The Tree of Change

Designed and created for Accenture Italia by Giorgio Palù, a Lombard architect already awarded the Compasso d'Oro, "The Tree of Change" is an installation that is never the same, which changes together with the city. Inside it houses a transparent screen, whose projections change from day to night; a new way of coming into contact with nature, a message of sustainability. Once the initiative is finished, the work will be dismantled and the materials used for new purposes.

3. Piazza Vigili del Fuoco, Bracco Group

The Tree of Knowledge

The Christmas tree proposed by Bracco is a forest of knowledge. Three quotes from the forest will be distributed in the square and integrated with the resident greenery, each linked to a specific action of knowledge: IMAGINE (art and culture), KNOW (science), LIVE (sociality). The trees will be elegantly decorated and, bringing back the Christmas tradition, with the classic lights that will bring the warmth of Christmas to the community. At their base, knowledge, expressed through video totems and QR code steles, and linked by a large infographic that will connect all the contents in a single representation. Each of the three forests will generate an interactive illustrated infographic framework, which will be donated to schools.

4. Piazza della Scala, Engie

The Tree of the Wind

The project aims to bring Engie's commitment to the study, research and supply of renewable energy, represented by the wind, to the public. The Christmas tree is in fact imagined with an architectural development inspired by the shape of the wind turbine and will be in constant movement. The base of the plant will become a sound speaker that will spread the "voice of Aeolus" through the notes of great composers and will tell the story and philosophy of Engie. The tree will be made entirely with laminated beams having a sustainability certificate linked to the forestry supply chain.

5. Piazza Gramsci, Nickelodeon (Viacom International Media network Italy)

The Game Tree

A tree designed to recreate a playground area dedicated to young people and their families. The Nickelodeon tree will be a highly scenic installation which will see some characters intent on decorating the tree. Visible from afar, it will take on the classic shape of the fir tree, with luminous spheres. An external tubular structure will recreate the volume where the characters of the television channel, climbing, interact with the tree, while the internal trunk will be personalized with Nickelodeon-themed drawings. After Christmas, the structure can be donated to an organization or school and will become a real play station.

6. Corso Garibaldi, Paramount (Viacom International Media network Italy)

The tree of stars

The PARAMOUNT NETWORK tree brings with it the magic of the world of cinema and its stars. An artistic installation made of recyclable metal summarizes the shape of the tree, which will be illuminated by some stars, engraved on the surface of the structure for a magical night.

7. Piazza XXIV MAGGIO, MTV (Viacom International Media network Italy)

The Tree of Music

A tribute to music and its world. The MTV tree is a hi-tech tree, made of light made with elements linked to the world of live music. The structure made of metal mesh will host luminous "cubes" inspired by the graphics that have made the history of MTV over the years. The various textures will give the tree light and color and will light up during the night, illuminated to the rhythm of the music. The light boxes imagined as cubic lamps will become unique and designer pieces destined to be auctioned. The proceeds can be donated to a local charity and to the entertainment workers' fund.

8. Piazza Greco, Greco Properties

A special but even more special Christmas

A tree six meters high and two meters wide, designed for children and their families. Immobiliare Greco wanted to give "a sign of hope for those who have had to lower their windows and are desperate, for those who are closed at home and can no longer take it, for the children who are experiencing a surreal situation and for many elderly people who risk bow to solitude."

9. Piazza San Carlo, Stone Island

The tree of tomorrow

The Stone Island tree is an invitation to research and is the synthesis of the meeting between research and technology. The classic Christmas fir tree becomes a tree of light, made of optical fibre, which starts from a root made of woven white fabric to which its reflection gives colour, while a series of mirrors placed around the installation will give the impression of a multiplication of lights and trees, a feeling of an urban forest.

10. Via Luca Beltrami, Golden Goose

A "collective" installation, made up of several baskets which will then be donated to the various playgrounds in Milan, created with the collaboration of some street artists. For Golden Goose "the tree is not just a Christmas communication activity but represents an act of love towards the city of Milan to accompany it in its gradual restart through a positive message of closeness, love and hope in line with the fundamental principles of Golden Goose Family”.

11. Piazza San Fedele, Cimento (Sai ​​Industry)

Whispering Trees

A project composed of a pair of plants that uses a physical phenomenon known as an acoustic mirror to make two people distant from each other communicate. The two trees, abstract tetrahedrons in plywood covered in Cimento, host a parabolic-shaped niche and a seat. The voice, bouncing off the internal concave wall, is reflected and bounces off the similar dish placed inside the other tree, reaching the ears of those nearby.

12. Largo La Foppa, Saipem

A technological tree aimed at the future to leave behind a past and a present full of uncertainties. In fact, the technological branches of the tree will carry phrases of hope and will "dress" the tree with emotions, thoughts and sensations focused on the future.

13. Galleria del Corso, Qwarzo

The tree is produced with quartz-treated, stabilized and waterproofed ecological paper, starting from a single blade 3 cm thick and approximately 366 meters long, wrapped in a single helical spiral that rises from a base of 2.50 m up to at a height of 4 metres. Circular sprays of liquid copper emphasize its Christmas vocation, without affecting its sustainability. In the ground base, LED lights create illumination from within, making the tree visible at night through the empty spaces of the spiral. The tree has a strong ecological vocation and with its 366 meters of paper it could be the tallest/longest Christmas tree in the world.

14. Piazza San Simpliciano, Levi Strauss

“Sharing the objective of the project dedicated to the symbol of Christmas for a desire for rebirth that starts from the city of Milan”, Levi's will create an installation that will see recycled wood and recycled denim as the main elements.

15. Piazza Tre Torri, CityLife

EDEN by Annalaura di Luggo

The project involves two conceptually linked installations: Triunphus is a luminous portal (made of compressed recycled aluminum waste) that leads to the tree; Pyramid, composed of a cascade of sparkling filaments in recycled aluminum created with the help of kids from the Quartieri Spagnoli of Naples, young people from problem areas encouraged to become artists by discovering the wonder of creation and the potential of waste materials. Colored pieces of paper and pens will also be sold in the Citylife shops: the proceeds will contribute to a charitable project to support the homeless in Milan.

16. Piazza San Marco, London art

The Wallaper Tree

The project involves the insertion of a 4-metre fir tree in the center of the flowerbed, illuminated with approximately 1200 LED microlights and decorated with circles of different diameters covered with scraps of resin-coated wallpaper. At the end of the event the decorations will be entirely recycled.

17. Piazza Cadorna, Trunks in the square

The project involves the installation of a tree of approximately 6 meters made with a modular truss load-bearing structure decorated with technical trunks and LED lights. Within some of these there will be sentences relating to the work of the show and the events. The installation aims to keep public attention alive towards workers in this sector but also towards all others in difficulty. During the period of the installation, interventions by entertainment workers may be scheduled.

18. Piazza Sempione, A2A

The Christmas proposed by A2A will arrive in the city with a dance of light; light swarms will draw on the surrounding architecture, generating a natural choreography. In fact, in the center of the square there will be a wattle installation with luminous LEDs suspended and moving inside, visible both day and night from every angle. An installation visible both day and night and from every point.