Calzedonia Group’s president Sandro Veronesi and Verona’s mayor Flavio Tosi revealed the winners of the competition dedicated to the city’s renowned Arena on Jan. 31, at the Politecnico university in Milan. Launched last March with the sponsorship of the Italian underwear and stocking specialist Calzedonia, the international contest aimed at selecting the best ideas for the creation of a movable covering for the Roman amphitheater was won by the group of architects SBP & GMP.
“The Arena is a unique historic-architectural reality worldwide,” said mayor Tosi, underscoring that the main goal of the contest was to ensure the protection and conservation of the building and to improve its functionality in hosting public events. Tosi mentioned how every year, about 14 million euros, or $15.1 million at current exchange, are invested in protecting Verona’s symbol from bad weather. “The rain is the major enemy of the Arena,” he said, explaining how this is causing fallings in the structure.
First introduced in 1995, the idea of creating a 129,167-square-foot movable covering was never really discussed since last year, when it was presented to the government’s ministers, who asked to receive real projects in order to evaluate the actual feasibility of the concept.
Veronesi contacted mayor Tosi
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