Sixteen days of pure Lombard horticultural pleasure: from 5 to 20 September Bergamo hosted the fifth “I Maestri del Paesaggio – International Meeting of the Landscape and Garden”. The quiet town at the foot of the Alps offers landscape architects and designers the space and setting to meet others from their profession in the midst of public garden presentations. Simultaneously, it takes leave of the Italian summer. The landscape planners transformed the town’s historic squares, Piazza Vecchia and Piazza Mascheroni, into an oasis of flowers, shrubs and trees equipped with outdoor furniture by Pedrali that encouraged visitors to relax outside.
The focal point of the traditional meeting was PiazzaVecchia , which is located in the upper part of the town, the “Città Alta”: here British garden designer Andy Sturgeon, designers Lucia Nusiner and Maurizio Quargnale created a kind of agricultural landscape full of grasses, young poplars and even bundles of hay. Wooden plant pots served to divide the expansive square into individual zones, which equipped with colorful outdoor seating by Pedrali became islands for relaxing. Specifically, visitors were invited to take a seat on bright yellow and sage green chairs and bar stools from the “Nolita” line or armchairs from the “Ara Lounge” series complete with table “Ypsilon”. Yellow and green poufs from the “Wow” line provided additional, easy-to-move seating.
Everyone who rode up to “Città Alta” by cable car was not only rewarded by a fantastic panorama view out over the Po plains, but could also savor a glass of wine on Piazza Mascheroni with its clock tower surrounded by reeds and seated on furniture by Pedrali – an unusual setting developed by students of the “Summer School 2014”. The aspiring landscape architects deliberately chose the sturdy outdoor furniture by Pedrali, not least of all as a symbol of Italian design culture, which is produced in Italy. The manufacturer has two production sites, both in the North of Italy: one in Mornico al Serio (Bergamo) for the metal and plastic products, and one in Manzano (Udine) for the wooden production.
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Between garden and design landscape: In September the town of Bergamo hosted the fifth “International Meeting of the Landscape and Garden”. Photo © Davide Forica
The “Maestri del Paesaggio” transformed Piazza Vecchia into a sea of poplars, orange trees and lilac. The event reflected the theme of this year’s Expo Milan and referred to the region’s “feeding landscapes”. Photo © Davide Forica
Bright yellow spaghetti straps: The “Nolita” chairs by Antonio Pagliarulo and Simone Mandelli exude summer flair. The delicate metal struts recall the first design by the firm’s founder Mario Pedrali in 1963. Photo © Davide Forica
Virginia creeper and Italian design: Piazza Mascheroni in “città alta”, fashioned by students of the Summer School 2014. Photo © Leonardo Tagliabue
