From today, for one year, Fiumicino Airport will have on display in Terminal 1 ‘Grande Folla n.1’ by Giò Pomodoro's (Orciano, Pesaro 1930 - Milan 2002): a majestic 1964 bronze sculpture from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAMC), restored thanks to the support of ADR. On its sinuous gilded and mirrored surface, the work — one and a half metres high and three metres long, weighing approximately 500 kilograms — shows a chiaroscuro alternation of solids and voids that multiply and deform the reflection of the passengers crowding the Terminal. The alternately convex and concave surface provides a fluid image of the ‘Piazza’ of boarding area A, where physical space seems to melt into a futurist dimension. The work thus cleverly captures all the vitality and dynamism of the airport.

Renata Cristina Mazzantini, Director of the GNAMC, observes: ‘Grande Folla n.1’ is one of the masterpieces of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, chosen precisely to welcome passengers arriving in the Eternal City, or those passing through this large airport more or less quickly. This imposing work first attracts and then captures your attention and draws you into the meandering of its complexities. It is a work that represents Italian contemporary art in a sublime way, to demonstrate that our country does not live solely on the reverberations of its magnificent tradition but also continues to be an extraordinary forge of creativity.’

The exhibition of the sculpture, presented today in the presence of ADR Chairman Vincenzo Nunziata, ADR CEO Marco Troncone, GNAMC Director Renata Cristina Mazzantini and Fiumicino Municipal Councillor for Productive Activities Raffaello Biselli, is accompanied in the internal piazza of Fiumicino airport by multimedia projections illustrating the GNAMC collection, which is the most important collection of modern and contemporary Italian art in the world. Images of a selection of the gallery's masterpieces accompanied by a written presentation will be projected onto large LED supports creating 6 Pillars of Art that rewrite the space of Terminal 1, in dialogue with the sculpture Grande Folla n.1 by Giò Pomodoro.

‘The exhibition of ‘Grande Folla n.1’ is a further tribute that ADR wishes to pay to Italian culture and art and to its passengers’, commented the President of Aeroporti di Roma, Vincenzo Nunziata. ‘Hosting this exhibition at the airport represents a significant opportunity to testify eloquently to the fact that Italy is not only the repository of an illustrious artistic heritage from the past, but is also capable of expressing a contemporary creative vitality that dialogues with the present and surprises the public with its innovation, form and content. A heartfelt thank you goes to the GNAMC, which made possible this initiative to enhance and disseminate Italy's artistic heritage.’

With this additional installation, Aeroporti di Roma confirms its desire to transform the travel experience by elevating the airport from a simple point of transit to a place of culture and beauty that brings together Italy's attractiveness and creativity. This strategy — together with the airport’s outstanding operations and superior passenger services — has led to reconfirmation of its 5-Star Airport Rating by Skytrax, the highest recognition in the airport sector at world level, already awarded in 2022, and earned it a place, for the first time, in the Top Ten Best Airports in the World, directly in eighth place.

During the event, thanks to the partnership with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, guests and passengers enjoyed an engaging concert by pianist Marco Aurelio Raco, who performed pieces including Luciano Berio's ‘Wasserklavier’ and Michael Nyman's ‘The Heart asks for pleasure first’.