Bob Wilson, Pedro Almodóvar, Paolo Sorrentino and Rossy de Palma... This spring, as global headlines remain turbulent, the Milan International Furniture Fair takes on a cinematic flair. Much like the Homo Faber biennial of artisanal crafts, which, in September 2024 in Venice, entrusted its artistic direction to Italian director Luca Guadagnino, several cinematic legends were invited to enchant this 63^rd edition of the Salone del Mobile: a dual event, featuring a professional fair known as "la Fiera" on the outskirts of Milan, and a "design week" called "Fuorisalone" in the city center, open until Sunday, April 13.

American director and dramatist Robert Wilson, 83, kicked off the festivities on Sunday, April 6, with an installation combining lights, music and footage titled Mother. He offered "a new vision" of the Pietà Rondanini, a marble sculpture of a Virgin holding Christ – Michelangelo's (1475-1564) swan song, which he left unfinished when he died at 88 – on display at the Sforza Castle until May 18.

On Tuesday, April 8, the opening day of the highly commercial Fiera, which in 2024 welcomed 370,000 international visitors and included this year's Euroluce biennial dedicated to lighting, Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino set the tone. The director of La Grande Bellezza and Parthenope transformed vast exhibition spaces with La Dolce Attesa ("The Sweet Wait"), a hypnotic installation that allows visitors to listen to their own breathing and appreciate the passage of time accompanied by a soundtrack of heartbeats. A precious idea to reclaim the corridors of airports, train stations and other non-places.

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