Reggio Emilia and contemporary trends

The bridges

The bridges, which were built from a design by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, now serve as the doorway to Reggio Emilia. They consist of three great white arches: architectural wonders that are best observed in motion, even while driving along the motorway, where you can appreciate their light, sinuous shapes. They represent XXI-century Reggio Emilia.

The High Speed Railway Station

In addition to the bridges, the High Speed Railway Station, “Mediopadana”, was added in 2013. It was built as exchanging hub for the area of almost 2 milion of potential users but it's definetly also a landmark.
It's a covered structure, completly realized with steel and glass, 483-m long. The width is variable, up to a maximum of 50 metres. It's the same for the height that can reach 20 metres. The cover is composed by the replayed succession of 13 portals, geometrically different, for a total of 457 portals.
The station is on two levels: the inferior one is the one of the entrance and houses the essencial services of the station; the upper one is for the platforms. The two levels are linked by 4 escalators on each side and 2 panoramic elevators.

Invitation to....

With the realization of four permanent works of art by Luciano Fabro, Sol LeWitt, Eliseo Mattiacci and Robert Morris situated in historical areas of the town, Reggio Emilia has planned to give a new look to the urban fabric, upgrading it by creating a dialogue between art and architecture.
A new kind of museum where artworks live in constant dialogue with its surroundings. Author and administrator of the project is the artist Claudio Parmiggiani.

The Maramotti Contemporary Art Collection

What was previously the first headquarters of Max Mara, today houses the important collection of contemporary art of the founder of the group. There are over 200 works of art permanently on display, dating from the 1950s to the present (Bacon, Fontana, Burri, Kounellis, Licini, Schifano, Merz, Parmiggiani, Cucchi, Chia, Kiefer, Baselitz, Richter, Basquiat, Salle, Katz, Fischi and many more). You can also visit the many temporary exhibitions and projects that are on display throughout the year.

Aterballetto

In what was previously known as the headquarters of the Lombardini foundry, today houses the National Dance Foundation “Aterballetto”. It is the main dance production company in Italy, is at the head of its field in ballet, and has gained international recognition.

Tecnopolo

It is a centre for Research in mechanics, mechatronics, construction, agro-business, energy & environment. The Tecnopole has been created to produce and disseminate knowledge, attract hi-tech and know-how, and serves as an incubator for start-ups and spin-offs.

European Photography

Fotografia Europea is an international cultural festival dedicated to contemporary photography, created in 2006.
Fotografia Europea uses photography as a tool to reflect upon the complexity of the contemporary.
The festival takes place in different locations of the city, both public and private, formal and informal, and it consists of a central core of exhibitions among which new ad hoc commissioned productions, related to a specific theme identified every year by the Scientific Committee.
The exhibitions are accompanied by a rich program of events, conferences, screenings, workshops, portfolio reviews and site specific performances.
The program is also enriched by the OFF circuit: the free and independent section of Fotografia Europea, that springs from the spontaneous initiative of individuals, galleries, associations and public and private institutions, and that offers exhibitions and events all over the territory.
Fotografia Europea is also an ongoing project: since its first edition it has acquired more than 1,000 works, which are available on-line and stored in the photo library of the Biblioteca Panizzi.

Aperto Festival

Many events as many expression of today in the ways that the live show allows and that other forms of communication no longer allow: stop, reflect, exercise criticism, inhabit a dream, or a nightmare, and overthrow it. New productions, absolute first and first Italian dance, music, performance. This is Aperto Festival.