Inside Eataly, a scenic installation celebrates tomato pasta, as simple as it is complex to prepare

Giant tomatoes, a huge saucepan with its regulation colander, oversized garlic, chili and basil, with a mega fork to roll up the spaghetti hanging from the ceiling create an aerial stage set designed by Paola Navone Otto Studio for Eataly.

The display, suspended in mid-air, showcases all the canonical ingredients of the most classic recipe in Italian cuisine, pasta with tomato sauce, so simple as to require perfect execution, a test bench for every self-respecting chef.

A veritable coup de théâtre that with ironic and outsize presences is reanimating what was once the Teatro Smeraldo, a historic Milanese building from the 40s, since 2014 home to Eataly.

The narrative linked to pasta is taken up in the two large LED walls that act as a theatrical backdrop to the stage.

The same inspiration appears in the finishes that complete the set-up: the circular space overlooking the interior is colored tomato red, furnished with tables and chairs of contemporary design, reflecting the colors of the ingredients (white, red and green), the colors of the Italian flag.

The multisensory installation includes a themed playlist devised by Otto Studio in which “Notes of Food” brings together words and music in various genres ranging from pop to hip-hop, indie and the most classic works by Italian artists.

The suspended installation occupies an area 6 m wide by 4 m high and is made of papier-mâché by the papier-mâché masters of the Viareggio carnival.

It consists of mega spaghetti hanging from the ceiling and supporting the oversized ingredients of a classic Italian dish of pasta: huge tomatoes with a diameter of 190 and 150 cm, chilies 230 cm long, heads of garlic 150 cm in diameter. To these are added the cooking implements: from the pan to the colander and the fork, all in giant versions.

The Viareggio Carnival Foundation collaborated in making the scenic objects. The restaurant area is designed by OTTO Studio with: Alias (seating); Midj (seating and tables); GPS Inox (kitchen); Chaises Nicolle (stools). The videos were produced in collaboration with Cineteca Milano.