The Third Paradise, descended from space, landed in Rome, in “audience” with Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale. The President of the Italian Republic heard the peculiarities of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s sign-symbol directly from the Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli and the president of the Italian Space Agency Roberto Battiston. Before going into the details of the meeting, which included among the guests the general director of ASI Anna Sirica and the director of the European Space Agency Johann Dietrich Woerner, we need to go back to the last 28th July, when Nespoli left for the ISS – International Space Station on the mission VITA.
Paolo Nespoli was in orbit until 14th December, in order to study how a microgravitational environment affects the health of a human organism, from both a physiological and biological point of view (please see our previous article). In the context of the mission, the Third Paradise was selected by agencies ASI and ESA as the central element of the logo of the mission VITA, thanks to the collaboration with RAM radioartemobile, platform of contemporary art, and, of course, Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto. It was a historical moment: for the first time an artistic symbol was used as the logo for a space mission. In this specific version three are the elements highlighted: a thread of DNA to recall life and science, a book representing culture and education, the Earth as a symbol of humanity. The logo is also characterized by the colours of the Italian flag, to honour the nationality of ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli and of ASI.
(The logo of the space mission VITA)
But going back to the meeting at the Quirinale: after Mattarella greeted the guests, Nespoli started thanking the head of state for the invitation. The astronaut then showed the President a few images from the mission, arranged on a single panel. “Mister President, – opened Nespoli – you asked for a picture but I brought more than one. This is a panel realized with a few shots from the ISS. This – indicating the logo, editor’s note – is the official logo of the mission, representing Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Third Paradise”. Battiston’s followed Nespoli’s words, explaining the meanings of the sign-symbol. Mattarella, visibly impressed, said: “It was a nice contribution!”
Addressing the President of the Republic, the president of ASI continued to say: “In the garden of the ASI, which I hope you’ll come and visit, we have created a 15/20-metre-wide symbol of the Third Paradise made with silicon solar panels; a work of art which can be photographed from space”. Nespoli also presented the head of state with a picture of mainland Italy and Sicily seen from space. Mattarella himself had in fact asked for it in the course of a life chat with the astronaut on 11th October.
In the context of the space mission, the artistic contribution was not limited to the logo, but it extended to the app SPAC3 (please see our previous article). It is an artistic and cultural project developed by ESA with RAM radioartemobile, in collaboration with ASI and Cittadellarte, which has allowed – and still allows – thousands of users from all over the world to use the app and the social networks as a means to launch their own messages on the themes of sustainability promoting the United Nations Agenda 2030 for a Sustainable Development. Through the app, you can in fact personalize the pictures taken by Nespoli in space with the symbol of the Third Paradise, to compose a collective social artwork (visible here). A collective work allowing you to give voice to and share a message on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, conceived to face the main global challenges like poverty, hunger, sustainable consumption and peace.
Photo credits: ASI. Photo gallery: here.
Please click here to see the video of the meeting (from the “Il Messaggero” website).
