“La Guarini” - Torino 2025 FISU Games Flame
The Torino 2025 FISU Games unveiled their iconic torch at the Castello del Valentino, the historic headquarters of the Politecnico di Torino, where the prototype of the Torch of the next World University Winter Games was presented.
Sport is a tool for change, a vehicle for training, growth, integration and inclusion, and this is why at the Torino 2025 Games, thanks to the will of FederCUSI, which has handed over the organisation of the Games to Piemonte and Torino: for the first time, able-bodied student-athletes and para-student-athletes will compete on the same slopes and in the same races, in the disciplines of Alpine skiing and cross-country skiing (Standing, Sitting and Visually Impaired categories).
There are four goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda that the Organising Committee of the Torino 2025 World University Winter Games has set itself to achieve: Good health and well-being for people (goal No. 3), Equal and quality education (No. 4), Gender equality (No. 5), Sustainable cities and communities (No. 11). Sustainability, rights and values, in the perspective of the third millennium then. Sport as an opportunity to overcome barriers, conquering spaces even in the world of culture and business, thanks to the valuable contribution of young university students.
It is with this spirit that the Torino 2025 Torch project was born, becoming the bearer of universal values and messages with the involvement of young people, university students and civil society.
Presenting the prototype of the Torch ‘La Guarini’ were Cristian Campagnaro, coordinator of the College of Design of the Politecnico di Torino and scientific head of the project’s development process, and Luigi Bistagnino, a former lecturer at the Politecnico and tutor of the workshop ‘THE TORCH AND THE BRAZIER FOR 2025: Designing the Winter Universiade’, developed within the framework of the agreement drawn up between the University and the Organising Committee.
Organised by the Politecnico di Torino thanks to the support of the Centro Universitario Sportivo Torinese (Turin University Sports Centre) and FISU (International University Sports Federation), the workshop took place in March 2023 and involved 14 students of the degree course in Design, focusing on two themes: the valorisation of the material culture and cultural history of the territory, with particular attention to Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture, strongly identifying the City of Torino; environmental responsibility and sustainability, in line with the criteria and philosophy of the Organising Committee and the objectives of the Politecnico di Torino. The workshop was coordinated by Professor Luigi Bistagnino and Alessandro Campanella, as part of the ‘Polito Design Workshop’ initiative: a week of intensive work, during which students explore research topics in the fields of business, non-profit, public administration and the creative professions.
Eight torch concepts were developed and the projects ‘La Guarini’ and ‘Lafleur’ were chosen as finalists by the Organising Committee of the Torino 2025 FISU Games. Both concepts integrated LED lighting, recyclable materials and the ability to function as lighting artefacts.
Also because of the fourth centenary of the great architect Guarino Guarini, the final concept chosen was ‘La Guarini’, inspired by the six concentric hexagonal levels of the Dome of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud of the Torino Cathedral designed by the renowned architect himself. The design of ‘La Guarini’ was realised by students Gianluca Basile, Giovanni Bergadano and Matteo Bizzarri.
The concept
Within the exploration of local cultural heritage themes, on which the concept generation workshop focused, an important role was played by the works of one of the most original interpreters of Piedmontese Baroque, architect Camillo Guarino Guarini. The dome of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in Torino Cathedral, designed by Guarini, is one of the most innovative masterpieces of this movement. The dome is characterised by the composition of concentric hexagons that, on six levels, rise upwards with baskets that allow light to enter, creating illusory plays of light and shadow. At the heart of the concept of ‘La Guarini’ is precisely the reference to the concentric geometries of the dome and the tension towards light.
‘La Guarini’ is designed in such a way that it has a dual function: it is a torch when held and an object of illumination when placed on a plane.
Five colours of Torino 2025 + One
The colour adopted for the torch of Torino 2025 is red, a colour that today symbolises the fight against gender-based violence. To the five colours of Torino 2025 – Pink, Purple, Blue, Yellow, Green – is therefore added Red. Just as, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the dome of the Guarini was lit up in red to help raise awareness about the importance of creating a culture of respect for women and non-violence, the Torch will be lit up in red as a symbol of a path to educate the population and young people, also as part of the EDU Torino 2025 programme.
