Italian Exhibition Group has officially begun construction of a new, 22,000sqm hall at the heart of the Vicenza Expo Centre. The centre is a major competitor in the gold and jewellery trade show market, holding top shows Vicenzaoro – The Jewellery Boutique Show, VO Vintage, ViOff and T.gold.
With the existing centre covering 80,000 sqm, the centre will be one of Northern Italy’s largest and best-equipped venues at over 100,000sqm, rivalling the nearby Veronafiere.
The hall has been designed by a company based in Hamburg – Studio GMP, led by architect Volkwin Marg. The new extension is replacing ‘the snail’, otherwise known as Pavilion 2, built in 1971, in order to create more space and better navigation for the expo’s visitors. Total cost has come in at approximately €60m.
To mark the occasion, top management at IEG, jewellery trade associations and locals gathered to witness a ceremony of religious importance. A blessing was given by Don Giampaolo Marta, vicar general of the Diocese of Vicenza. Then, Volkwin Marg handed the expansion project to IEG president Maurizio Ermeti in a container, who in turn placed it inside a concrete block.
With mayor Giacomo Possamai and other leading local politicians in attendance, Ermeti and Marg tapped the foundation stone with a trowel – a ritual meaning that construction will now begin.
Maurizio Ermeti gave a comment reflecting the huge changes the centre has undergone: “More than fifty years ago, visionaries laid the foundation stone of the “snail” with the hope of improving their lives, businesses and the territory. Today, with this symbolic gesture, we are renewing that intention by building a larger, more technological and powerful structure to maintain Vicenzaoro’s status as a European and international leader in the jewellery sector.”
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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