From April 8 to 13, Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino unveils “La dolce attesa” at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025, transforming pavilions 22-24 into a space that explores the tension between anticipation and uncertainty. The installation invites visitors to reflect on the experience of waiting, where time slows, emotions heighten, and the future remains unknown.
DESIGN
Sorrentino describes waiting as both anguish and wonder, a paradox that leaves individuals suspended between fear and excitement. “Waiting is anguish. Sweet waiting is a journey that amazes and hypnotizes,” he explains. Through this project, he challenges visitors to engage with time differently, embracing stillness rather than resisting it.
Sorrentino often examines the subtleties of human emotion, and “La dolce attesa” continues that exploration. The installation captures the quiet intensity of waiting, whether anticipating life-altering news or facing an uncertain future. This experience, filled with potential yet undefined, becomes a metaphor for existence itself.
The project encourages visitors to pause, breathe, and experience time unfolding in ways that often go unnoticed. Instead of treating waiting as a burden, “La dolce attesa” reframes it as a moment of reflection, where anything remains possible.
To bring this vision to life, Sorrentino partnered with Margherita Palli, a set designer whose career spans four decades. Known for her work with Luca Ronconi, she has designed over sixty productions for institutions such as La Scala, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, and the Venice Biennale. Her ability to shape immersive spaces plays a key role in the creation of “La dolce attesa.”
Beyond her collaborations with Ronconi, Palli has worked with directors Liliana Cavani, Mario Martone, and Alexander Sokurov, as well as choreographers Yang Jiang and Daniel Ezralow. Her expertise in stagecraft ensures that Sorrentino’s vision materializes into an experience that engages both emotionally and visually.
