OLYMPIC TORCH
WHAT
The Torch that Pininfarina designed was a modern interpretation of the traditional wooden torch, in which it is the metal that seems to catch fire and burn. The flame envelops the body of the Torch rather than exiting from a hole on the top, like earlier torches. A dynamic, innovative shape was created to develop this concept, which recalls the tip of a ski but also the building that is a symbol of Turin, the Mole Antonelliana.
Pininfarina was responsible for both the styling and engineering of the Torch and for its manufacture; a total of 12 thousand numbered examples were produced for the Olympics and 125 for the Paralympics. The Olympic Flame passed through the hands of over 11,000 torchbearers, crossing all the Italian regions and provinces, and covering a distance of 11,000 kilometres.
The design won the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” award, the highest prize from the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art, with the following motivation: “The Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici bows before the pure beauty of the Olympic Torch created by the multiform genius of Turin and the sublime master craftsman, Pininfarina”.
