Art installation and musical interludes with Compagnia Finzi Pasca

During the 29th Dies academicus of Università della Svizzera italiana, the Aula magna housed an artistic installation created by Compagnia Finzi Pasca, one of the most internationally renowned theatre and performance companies.

The scenography, designed by Hugo Gargiulo with the support of associate designer Matteo Verlicchi, transformed the venue into an immersive and evocative environment, thanks to the use of warm lights, suspended in space like floating light bulbs, and the presence of an original soundtrack composed by Maria Bonzanigo - co-founder of the company together with Daniele Finzi Pasca - and executed in several moments of the ceremony.

The installation was inspired by the poetics of "Teatro della Carezza", the stylistic signature of Compagnia Finzi Pasca, in which light, music and gesture come together to create an emotional, intimate and at the same time spectacular experience.

With 348 light bulbs responding to sound and 6.3 km of cables, the Firefly Forest was originally designed for the show Bianco su Bianco in 2014.

Scaled down to animate the Aula Magna USI on the occasion of UniVerso, it has become a way to make the stars dream.

Five musical moments, taken from shows such as Bianco su Bianco, AVUDO and La Verità, accompanied the ceremony, underlining key passages of the event. The combined effect of scenic lights and music with a strong poetic impact offered guests a unique, evocative and deeply involving atmosphere.

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Compagnia Finzi Pasca is one of the most internationally renowned artistic companies based in Lugano. Founded in 2011 by Daniele Finzi Pasca, Antonio Vergamini, Hugo Gargiulo, Maria Bonzanigo and Julie Hamelin Finzi (†), the company carries on the legacy of Teatro Sunil and Inlevitas, developing a unique poetics that fuses theatre, dance, acrobatics, circus, opera and documentary.

At the heart of their artistic vision is the concept of "Teatro della Carezza" and "Gesto Invisibile", a philosophy that promotes a delicate and intimate approach to performance, emphasising lightness and emotional depth. This aesthetic has resulted in over 40 original creations, including shows such as Icaro, Donka, La Verità, Bianco su Bianco, Per te, Nuda and TITIZÉ, featured in over 550 theatres and festivals in 46 countries.

Compagnia Finzi Pasca has also staged major events on a global scale, including three Olympic Ceremonies (Turin 2006 and Sochi 2014, for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games), two shows for Cirque du Soleil (Corteo in 2005 and Luzia in 2016) and numerous operas, including Verdi's Aida and Requiem for the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Carmen and Pagliacci at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples, L'Amour de loin for the English National Opera in London, and Einstein on the Beach at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Major events produced by the company include Montréal Avudo (2017), a multimedia show (249,000 spectators in four months), Abrazos (2019) for the Feria Estatal de León in Mexico, with over 200,000 spectators. In addition, the company's creative core contributed to the Fête des Vignerons 2019 in Vevey, an event that takes place once every quarter of a century and welcomed around 375,000 spectators. In 2020, Compagnia Finzi Pasca curated the artistic set-up for the inauguration of the largest pipe organ in Russia, at the Zaryadye Concert Hall in Moscow, with an immersive installation during which 24 of the world's best organists performed for 24 consecutive hours, attracting around 10,000 visitors. In 2024 the Company's creative team curated The Sense Gallery project , a 6-room multi-sensory space with immersive installations at the FoxTown Factory Stores in Mendrisio.

Over the course of more than 40 years, the Company's shows have reached more than 15 million spectators, captivating audiences all over the world.