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“Happiness Thief” Oliviero Toscani In Genoa To Celebrate 70 Years Of Costa Cruises

To celebrate the Italian company's anniversary, an exhibition dedicatedto happiness, by the great Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, will open at thePalazzo Ducale in Genoa on 6 July this year, under the patronage of the LiguriaRegion and the Municipality of Genoa. The photographs were taken on board theCosta Pacifica and a selected preview will be displayed on the fleet's ships.

Genoa, 10 May 2018- CostaCruises is celebrating its 70th anniversary in Genoa with a specialproject in collaboration with an exceptional partner: Oliviero Toscani.

An exhibition dedicated tohappiness by the celebrated Italian photographer is due to open on 6 July thisyear at the Palazzo Ducale, inGenoa, under the patronage of the LiguriaRegion and Genoa City Council.The title of the exhibition is "OlivieroToscani. Ladro di Felicità²" (Happiness² Thief), as it consists ofover 100 photographs"stolen" by Toscani on board the Costa Pacifica, during a week-longcruise in the Caribbean that began on 31 March, the exact day on which Costa,whose story began on 31 March 1948 with the first sailing by the passenger ship"Anna C", celebrated its birthday. The project is supported by Canon Italia as a digital imagingpartner.

The theme of the photographs isthe happiness experienced by guests travelling on Costa ships. As the title ofthe exhibition suggests, they were taken to capture spontaneous and natural emotions."It is said that in theatre, cinemaor television, it is easier to make people cry than laugh. The same thing istrue of photography, it is easier to photograph horrors, wars, famines,unhappiness than peace, love, harmony, happiness! Having Happiness as a themeto photograph is a great privilege and a great challenge" - said Oliviero Toscani.

"Since 1948, the year of Costa's foundation, many things havechanged, but we continue to work with a single goal: to make our guestshappy" - commented Luca Casaura,Costa Cruises Senior Vice President Global & Strategic Marketing - "Which is why we thought of dedicating anexhibition to happiness to celebrate our 70th anniversary, entrusting ourselvesto a master of photography like Oliviero Toscani, who has been able to capturethe true essence of a Costa cruise. It is a very special project we wanted togive to Genoa, our city, thanks to the collaboration with localinstitutions".

The "Oliviero Toscani. Ladro di Felicità²" exhibition, withfree admission, will remain on display at the Palazzo Ducale until 14 October.It will be curated by Flavio Arensi,with a unique installation by PeterBottazzi creating an engaging and immersive experience for visitors. Theexhibition catalogue, published by MondadoriElecta, will include a preface by the Italian art critic Philippe Daverio.

Flavio Arensi, curator of the exhibition said: "There is nothing more poetic than a thiefwho can steal glances and capture the emotion of a fleeting event that is overin an instant because it's fully contained in the expressiveness of the moment.As just such a thief, Oliviero Toscani wandered among the cruise guests, withall due care and respect for people who are busy taking time out of their livesto relax with their family, friends and loved ones. The resulting exhibition isa string of feelings, with no sentimentality, where happiness is found in thesharing of a relationship. With an ability to see situations beyond theportraits of the protagonists, Toscani illustrates a space that is intimatewhilst also making it accessible to everyone. Over one hundred photographs, ofwhich Toscani is both a director and a consumer, depicting a journey amongpeople but also providing a key to Toscani's photography, highlighting thenovelty of his language which, from advertising to social campaigns, manages touse photography not as a technical means of expression but as a representationof life. A thief yes, but a thief who always knows how to give dignity and astrong foundation to every image, because it isn't enough to represent theworld, we also need to present it".

Starting in May, a selection of10 photos taken by Oliviero Toscani will be on display for the first time onboard Costa ships, becoming a real "floatingexhibition" that will travel around the world. Thephotos will be printed on large canvases and will literally float in the atriumof each ship, creating a vertical layout of great visual impact.

The Palazzo Ducale exhibitionwill also include a number of images taken by guests of the Costa Pacifica whotook part in a series of thematic workshops conducted by Toscani and his associatesduring their stay on board, with the contribution of a Canon Academy teacher.50 cameras from the EOS range were made available to guests to put thetheoretical lessons into practice with field photography sessions.

"A true master reveals himself in his ability to form disciples. Thisstrange adventure happened to Oliviero: he became a sailor just as he steppedon the bridge of the Costa Pacifica even though he was born in Milan not toolong earlier. However, the sailor remained the photographer Oliviero. He spreadout his professional passion to the guests: they all started photographing. Hebecame their guru. In fact, life on board, being unfamiliar to everyday life,leads to a psychological dimension of absolute mental freedom, the mostsuitable for traveling not only on water but also in one's own daydreams. So,the photographs of the disciples mixed with those of the teacher in a strangeemotional authenticity: it is not at all easy to distinguish them from each otherat first sight. Then the critical eye begins its investigation path andrediscovers the differences, but sharing the same celebration of happiness,that contagious which in turn leads us, when seeing them, to smile asaccomplices" – stated Philippe Daverio.

"Genoa once again confirms its role as an exceptional, attractivecultural center. Palazzo Ducale still demonstrates its vocation to dedicate apart of its calendar to photography with big names. Oliviero Toscani is part ofa successful program including masters of photography. In this case, it is animportant collaboration between public institutions and a private company tooffer citizens and tourists an exhibition of great impact. And it is notaccidental that Costa Cruises wants to celebrate its 70th anniversary with animportant cultural and engaging event like this: the exhibition represents astep, the apex of a much wider path. Costa is a company which is very committedto provide educational and cultural opportunities to the youth of our region, launchinghigh-level training courses together with the Merchant Marine Academy. I hopethat this exhibition too will become a positive event especially for a youngaudience "- said Ilaria Cavo,Councilor for Culture and Training of the Liguria Region.

Elisa Serafini, Councilor for Local Marketing, Culture and YouthPolicy of the Municipality of Genoa, said: "Manyyoung people are discovering photography thanks to digital channels likeInstagram, Flickr and Facebook. We are sure that this exhibition, which will beopen to the public thanks to the contribution made by Costa Cruises, willattract and stimulate a young audience as well. Palazzo Ducale is thereforerenewing its determination to mix different genres in order to make cultureaccessible to all kinds of audiences".

For more information:

CostaCruises

Press Office - Tel. +39 010 5483523 / 0105483068 - costapressoffice@costa.it

Gabriele Baroni - Communication Director- cell. +39 3497668013 - baroni@costa.it

Davide Barbano - Media Relations Manager- cell. +39 3346525216 - barbano@costa.it

Press releases and photos available at www.costapresscenter.com

Palazzo Ducale

Press office

CamillaTalfani - +39 3357316687 - CTalfani@palazzoducale.genova.it

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