Seme dell'Altissimo
Mapei was a technical partner in the creation of one of the main symbols of Expo Milano 2015: the “Seme dell’Altissimo” by Emilio Isgrò, Expo 2015’s only official artwork. The work is actually a majestic orange seed broken down into three blocks, blown up 1,500,000 times compared to its real size: a 7 m tall sculpture made of white Altissimo marble excavated from Cervaiole quarry up on Monte Altissimo in Serravezza, located in the Lucca region (Central Italy) on the Apuan Alps. This work was created by the artist Emilio Isgrò and constructed by Henraux SpA. “For me an orange seed is symbolic – so Isgrò told us - representing my homeland, Sicily; but it is also a symbol of fertility and life; everybody loves oranges from America to China.
It is a fruit that brings people together, whose seed we all spit out”. Perfectly embodying the main theme of Expo 2015, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, the work stands on a fan of steps made out of highquality grey Versilys marble that also comes from Monte Altissimo. It is located at the main entrance, West Gate, to the Expo site, next to the Expo Center, in a privileged position so that it can be clearly seen by everybody visiting the Expo. Mapei helped construct the sculpture by supplying its cutting-edge technology for constructing the fan of stones on which the “Seed” stands. For the installation of the marble base, Mapei supplied KERAFLEX MAXI S1 high-performance, deformable, cementitious adhesive with no vertical slip, extended open time and Low Dust technology. The marble joints were then grouted using ULTRACOLOR PLUS high-performance, anti-efflorescence, quick-setting and drying polymer-modified mortar with water-repellent DropEffect® and mould-resistant BioBlock® technology. Mapei, whose corporate philosophy is based on the firm belief that work can never be separated from art and passion, was proud to help in the creation of “Seme dell’Altissimo”, a fine example of how a working partnership between art and industry can result in the creation of magnificent works all over the world.
