Wired: Interview with Gianluca De Marchi

It is not uncommon in recent years, when encountering one of the great Italian monuments wrapped for restoration purposes, to notice next to a giant billboard or an impressive illuminated screen the brand of Urban Vision. This is a leading company, in fact, in the sponsored recovery of historic buildings and works of art.

From the Colonnade of St. Peter’s to the Duomo of Milan, from the Barcaccia Fountain in Rome to the excavations of Pompeii, since 2004 the company has channeled 130 million euros of private funds aimed at restoration projects with often innovative formulas. The goal is indeed the preservation and promotion of artistic and cultural heritage, combined with the enhancement of those brands that invest in the works themselves, respecting the historical memory and the uniqueness of the places. Over the years, Urban Vision has expanded the tools and methods of its activities, increasingly opening up to crossovers with other worlds (such as entertainment and music), but especially to new communication techniques, particularly in the digital field, with a focus on environmental sustainability. We discussed this with Gianluca De Marchi, one of the company’s founders alongside Fabio Mazzoni and Daniela Valenza.

Urban Vision is increasingly using technological and digital innovations in its urban communication projects: how does this aspect align with your historic focus on the protection of cultural heritage?

“Art and culture are, for us, a heritage not only to be protected but also to be enhanced and communicated. That’s why our communication projects are increasingly attentive to the possibilities offered by digital technology. Restoring a building or a work of art is only part of a broader cultural dissemination project that, starting from out-of-home advertising, connects to the web, social media, new technologies, and offers the opportunity for a true cultural digital experience. Cities are becoming smart cities, where communication possibilities have significantly increased and are becoming ever more central in people’s lives. Out-of-home media is an ideal platform to meet this challenge because it can and must become an intelligent media, capable of engaging with the community by providing real-time informational and cultural content”.

Art, especially in today’s digital proliferation, can take many forms. In what ways do you think artistic expression can evolve in the urban landscape?

“One example is the communication project for the restoration of the Rialto Bridge, which was, in a sense, one of our first works in terms of interconnection between different media. To immerse the audience in the story of this long restoration process, we even attached GoPro cameras to the helmets of the restorers to tell the stages of the work on the web and on social media from a privileged perspective. Today, we continue to develop cultural enhancement projects with a high technological content, which still have the goal of informing citizens about the cultural value of the works we help restore. Our communicative know-how drives us to do this in the most engaging way possible: with applications like augmented reality, holograms, e-learning, and gamification, which allow people to explore cultural content at a level previously unimaginable.”

In recent years, you have also worked on the launch of films like Blade Runner 2049, TV series, and even musical shows like X Factor, as if communication itself became a form of entertainment. How do these activities integrate into your way of working, and how do you conceive such initiatives?

“Until recently, it was mainly luxury, telecommunications, and automotive brands that sought creative and cross-media solutions for their communication campaigns. Today, special projects have become essential for other sectors as well, such as cinema and music. In the past year, we have collaborated with some of the most beloved artists in the music scene, from Fedez to Salmo, from Mengoni to Ramazzotti, and Sfera Ebbasta. On the other hand, a media company like ours must constantly rethink its model, placing a creative approach to media space at the center of its work, imagining it as a starting point for more structured, engaging, and digital campaigns or events.”

Let’s talk about sustainability: for some years now, you have been working on advertising systems that are not only eco-friendly but also help the environment. How do these technologies work?

“We have always paid special attention to reducing the environmental impact of our projects, using printing technologies that emit no volatile organic compounds or ozone-depleting substances, favoring water-based, non-acrylic paints that ensure the complete absence of harmful pollutants, and limiting light pollution by using LED lights, powered by photovoltaic panels where possible. We also take responsibility for the disposal and recycling of the materials used. For over two years, we have also adopted The Breath technology on all our systems—an innovative technology designed to reduce air pollution caused by smog, heating, and industrial emissions. It consists of a multi-layer fabric that absorbs, holds, and breaks down the pollutants in the air, thus improving the air quality of the surrounding environment. It doesn’t need any power source to operate; it only uses the natural movement of the air.”

London. An image of the “The Breath” advertising tarps, to which a smog-eating technology is applied. You have refined, if not invented, a method that involves private sponsors in the restoration of buildings with public and universal value: how do you manage the responsibility of this balance?

“Our partners in restoration projects, the brands, are an essential part of our model; they are active participants in a process that generates value for the community. Having a role in people’s lives goes beyond promoting a product or service; it implies a high sense of responsibility, and from this perspective, we provide them with an additional opportunity. Furthermore, our installations are always extremely respectful of the architectural context in which they are placed.”

The economy of art and communicative ability are in the DNA of your company: a balance that seems to reflect Made in Italy more generally.

“Today, Urban Vision is an international company with several offices around the world, but a business model like ours could only have been born in Italy, the homeland of the Renaissance and patronage. For our country, the artistic heritage is not just a great social and economic opportunity; it is also one of the symbols of the Made in Italy brand, driving the perceived value of our national system worldwide.”

Wired

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