Major restyling completed at the Porto Antico of Genoa.
Renzo Piano's masterpiece rediscovers its original beauty and wins a prestigious international award in Houston for execution excellence.
The Bigo has returned to shine just as it did in 1992, the year it was inaugurated for the Colombo '92 Expo. In recent days, the complex cleaning and repainting operations have been completed, restoring the original splendour to one of Genoa's most beloved, photographed, and iconic symbols.
The extraordinary quality of the restyling has already achieved a global stage: the AMPP (Association for Materials Protection and Performance) – the international reference body in the field of materials protection and corrosion control – bestowed upon the project the prestigious “Recognition of Excellence in Aesthetic Merit in a Coatings Project” award during the official ceremony in Houston, Texas.
An exceptional milestone that saw the entire supply chain rewarded: Porto Antico di Genova S.p.A. as the client, IMC Engineering S.r.l. for design and works management, and Impresa Donelli S.r.l. from Legnano for execution.
The numbers and challenges of a cutting-edge construction site.
Counteracting the corrosive action of salt spray, smog, and atmospheric agents on a monumental structure exposed to the sea required an investment of approximately 2 million euros, a long and meticulous design phase, and engineering planning of excellence carried out by IMC Engineering Srl of Genoa. The figures of the construction site bear witness to the scale of the undertaking: 10,855 total working hours, 1,300 litres of special paint used, and 2,349 square metres of treated surface area, which includes the 8 masts, the 4 support arches of the tensile structure, and the 12 struts of the roofing.
The location of the Bigo – immersed within the harbour waters, adjacent to commercial activities, restaurants, and in an area with a constant pedestrian flow – necessitated extremely strict safety and containment standards. To map the state of the art, latest-generation drones were utilized, while Impresa Donelli (winner of the public tender) introduced zero-impact technical solutions, such as a special scaffolding chained directly in the water (without any structural anchoring to the Bigo) to completely eliminate the dispersion of dust and paint into the surrounding environment.
The restoration, which maintained exact chromatic fidelity as originally conceived by the RPBW studio (Renzo Piano Building Workshop), developed across two macro-phases between 2025 and 2026. In the first phase, in 2025, technicians operated on the portions reachable via scaffolding, refurbishing the vertical mast, the four side arms, and the three load-bearing elements that support the panoramic lift and the tensile structure of Piazza delle Feste. In the second phase, in 2026, for the most inaccessible sections suspended in mid-air, rope access specialists went into action, completing the work thanks to a system of high-altitude ropes and harnesses.
“The Bigo is not merely an infrastructure, it is the heart of contemporary Genoa; it is the symbol of Porto Antico, so much so that it features prominently in the foreground of its logo” - emphasizes Mauro Ferrando, president of Porto Antico di Genova S.p.A. “Together with the Lighthouse, it represents the icon of Genoa in the world: a work of art loved by citizens, celebrated by tourists, and constantly immortalized by graphic designers, designers, and artists for its perfect visual harmony. The restyling intervention we celebrate today is part of a strategic extraordinary maintenance plan aimed at enhancing our company’s real estate assets. My most sincere thanks go to the designers, the works management, the technical office of Porto Antico, and all the workers who, with dedication and expertise, made this engineering masterpiece possible, bringing Genoa and the Porto Antico onto the international podium in Houston.”
The modernization process of the area does not stop here: the next step already on the agenda for Porto Antico will concern the air conditioning system of the panoramic lift cabin, necessary to offer an even more comfortable visitor experience.
Press Office Porto Antico di Genova S.p.A. Giusi Feleppa 010.2485675 - 335.7157199