PIAZZA DUOMO JUNGLE (Milano, 2067)

In 2017 the management of the flowerbeds of piazza Duomo was entrusted to Starbucks. The American multinational, following the project of the Italian landscape architect Mario Bay, filled the Duomo flowerbed with palm trees, eliciting different reactions among the citizens. After it was realized, Mario Bay argued that his project was in continuity with the tradition of the secret Milanese gardens, which were populated with tree palms. However, many right-side exponents of parties as Lega Nord protested as they considered the intervention an “African-exotic symbol” and thus an affront to the Italian traditions (forgetting that Milan was one of the most open and cosmopolitan cities in Europe). 50 years later, in 2067, the Milan town hall, taking advantage of the latest policies on green urban planning and bio-diversity, converted the whole square in a jungle to symbolize the ‘Milanese’ multi-cultural diversity.