From Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September, Bologna will host the third edition of Planetaria Festival, titled “Cities That Refuse to Stand Still”: an entire weekend of performances, talks, music and workshops exploring the future of cities, conceived by Stefano Accorsi and Filippo Gentili, curated and produced by Superhumans, with artistic direction by Stefano Accorsi and scientific direction by Giulio Boccaletti. Admission is free, subject to booking on Planetaria.it. Among the Festival’s partners is NABA, taking part with an exhibition project that brings together scientific research and visual communication.
«Mediating Adaptation»: NABA’s exhibition at Planetaria Experience
Throughout the Festival, the Planetaria Experience section in the Foyer of the Teatro Arena del Sole will host “Mediating Adaptation – NABA Exhibition”, created by second-year students on the Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design and Art Direction at the NABA Rome campus, in collaboration with the CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and Planetaria.
«Mediating Adaptation»: the project and its teaching approach
Drawing on the data and scientific findings of the European project Adaptation AGORA, promoted by the CMCC Foundation, the work focused on rising urban temperatures in Rome and their consequences for people, public spaces and cultural heritage. During the Experimental Graphics course, under the artistic direction of Alessio Natale Ferri, NABA lecturer and Art Director, the research was translated into seventeen experimental posters that turn complex information into immediate, accessible experiences capable of fostering awareness, participation and new perspectives on climate adaptation.
«Mediating Adaptation»: the projects on show
“Animals Are Suffering, and We’ll Be Next” – Angel Di Lorenzo: a bee killed by the heat becomes a warning sign of a vulnerability shared across species.
“Thermography” – Benedetta Massa: a map of Rome reveals the hidden heat islands within the historic districts along the Tiber.
“Rome Weather 2026” – Eleonora Di Bonaventura: a “glitched” weather app shows how extreme climate disrupts everyday life.
“Urban Epidermis” – Emma Di Marco: the city becomes a living body that melts and tears under thermal stress, in the visual language of Alberto Burri.
“Forma Urbis” – Francesca Biscari: the cracks in a wall become an unstable map of the climate pressure bearing down on the city.
“Thermal Presence” – Gabriele Schillaci: the silhouette of a Roman monument dissolves to render heat as a diffuse presence.
“The Thirst of Rome” – Gabriella Pilerci: the Trevi Fountain without water becomes the symbol of a city exposed to the climate crisis.
“Urban Densities” – Giulia Sacco: the map of Rome’s ground becomes a generative structure for visualising the intensity of climate phenomena.
“It’s Not an Oasis” – Karen Puppo: St Peter’s Basilica reflected in a puddle reveals the illusion of relief that does not exist.
“Urban Heat – Heal – Nature Island” – Martina Pallucco: a colour-coded map of Rome presents urban greenery as a possible remedy for overheating.
“Faded Rome” – Nicolò Nardoni: nine posters, spanning 2016, 2020 and 2024, depict the spread of heat as a fading of the city.
“Matter Under Heat” – Emanuel Nocella: Rome’s cobblestones distort under the heat, making the transformation of urban matter visible.
“There’s Still Time” – Sofia Costagliola: IPCC scenarios become “heat stains” on the city’s monuments, balancing urgency with the possibility of action.
“Boiling Shell” – Sofia Di Marco: Rome’s public drinking fountains, scalding hot during heatwaves, become a symbol of vital infrastructure at risk.
“+2.5°C” – Sonika Boccia: the Capitoline Wolf becomes a living climate sensor, caught between memory and environmental crisis.
“Rome Is Melting” – Zhu Iabes: heat islands make the map of the city “melt” into organic, fluid forms.
«Planetaria Festival»: information and bookings
The exhibition can be visited throughout the Festival, from 25 to 27 September, in the Foyer of the Teatro Arena del Sole in Bologna. Admission to the Festival is free, subject to booking on Planetaria.it.
With “Mediating Adaptation”, NABA confirms its commitment to promoting an approach to education that combines scientific rigour, visual experimentation and responsibility towards the major issues of the present, giving students the opportunity to engage with a project of national significance such as Planetaria Festival.
