The Waiting Room
Paolo Sorrentino, Filmaker - Ph. Michael Avedon
La dolce attesa
An Installation by
filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino
At the entrance of Salone del Mobile there’s a special place waiting for you, conceived by filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino. It is the installation La doce attesa, Sorrentino’s vision of what a waiting room could be.
"Waiting is agony. The sweet anticipation is a journey. A stunning and mesmerising one."
Paolo Sorrentino
Paolo Sorrentino. La dolce attesa, Sketch Salone del Mobile. Milano 2025 - Margherita Palli
When asked to design something special for Salone del Mobile, Sorrentino brought in set designer Margherita Palli, who has been working internationally as a designer for over forty years, most famously for Italian director Luca Ronconi, both in film and in theatre (for esteemed institutions such as the Venice Biennale, Piccolo Teatro, La Scala and the Teatro di Roma).
For audio he turned to Max Casacci to create the soundscape and Luca Cordero (CoffeeMusic) who performed at Andromeda Studio Torino.
“One of life's greatest misfortunes is waiting. We talk about waiting for a report, for a medical response. When we await our fate, all we can do is wait. When our future depends on a doctor, on a laboratory, we just have to hang on in there. In a state of distress. Perhaps, then, we should rethink the way we wait. Thus, perhaps, waiting can become less painful. Because it becomes something else. Our waiting room aspires to be something else. It doesn't force you to sit still, but lets you go. A little trip, like children, on reassuring rides."
Paolo Sorrentino
If only we could all sit in waiting rooms designed by Sorrentino while we wait for a doctors appointment. For a lucky few who have their ticket, they will enjoy waiting for their moment in Milan this weekend before closing.
Paolo Sorrentino. La dolce attesa Fiera Milano, Rho – Pad. 22-24 Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025 ©Margherita Palli
8 – 13 April
Fiera Milano, Rho – Pavilions 22-24
very laboratory