"We conceived the exhibition layout as a journey through time, space and consciousness. The exhibition spaces are designed according to the golden ratio: from micro to macro, they interact with visitors and with the Basilica hall. There are several exceptions to this rule, resulting from the building's layered history over the centuries which, like the world, eludes perfection and rigour.

Harmony takes many forms depending on culture, place and time. Its vision is controversial, especially in the contemporary world. We ask visitors to make a great effort: this is not a historical-scientific exhibition on the golden ratio, but a game that stimulates the search for possible harmony in the contemporary world. Through a few bright flashes on a dark and indistinct background, the journey unfolds through texts and graphics, physical works of art and video installations, at different levels of interaction.

Each stage has a name. Some stages involve rationality, through storytelling and encounters with characters from the past and present; others engage the emotions, sight, hearing and touch; towards the end of the journey, the Third Paradise invites visitors to experience and participate directly in the creation of a collective work of art, in which words are at the centre and the driving force of relationships."

Marcella Gabbiani of Studio Gabbiani & Associati,
Exhibition designer

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