A glamorous evening, entitled ‘Ad Maiora!’ was staged on Saturday evening at Panama by Borsalino restaurant in Marina di Pietrasanta, owned by the Civiltà del Marmo group); on this occasion, many illustrious guests attended the illustration of the historic agreement-synergy signed by the Carrara entrepreneur Gualtiero Vanelli with the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim.
Among the guests were Paolo Barilla, Andrea Casini of Unicredit, Olivier Francois of Fiat, Flavio Manzoni of Ferrari, Andrea Buitoni, Saverio Silva of Realsilva, Andrea Panconesi of Luisaviaroma; entrepreneurs and managers of international standing, and Arturo Elias, a key figure of the Mexican group, who has already been publicly thanked by Gualtiero Vanelli for his fundamental contribution to the definition of the agreement.
Good music, a glamorous atmosphere, but also discussions about the industry and economics made up a beautiful evening, with the interlude of the iconic images of the Apuan quarries in the films by Civiltà del Marmo and Gvm that summed up the exceptional quality of our marble and the possibilities of the art workshops; an extraordinary world, unique in the world, capable of bewitching one of the richest men on the planet, engineer Carlos Slim, now 40% of Civiltà del Marmo. The first projects resulting from the agreement will be seen in September.
Matteo Venturi, President of Confindustria Massa-Carrara, commented on the agreement between Gualtiero Vanelli and engineer Slim: “Carrara wins once again, the sustainability of Carrara and its marble as a unique product, an extraordinary symbol of natural stone in the world; if a billionaire like Slim, one of the most ‘liquid’ people on the planet invests in Carrara, evidently there is something good indeed. In the reasons why the Mexican tycoon decided to do business, as Tirreno reported, there is, in addition to his love for art and our extraordinary history, an explicit recognition of what has been done over the years by the companies and the community for a winning product in the world. The reference is, in fact, to marble as a symbol of the Renaissance, as a recognisable symbol of Italian beauty, but I like to read something else in the watermark because if twelve years ago, after his first visit, he had not invested, and now yes, he has, after his new tour of the quarries, I think it is also because he has noticed as an experienced entrepreneur the steps forward made in the sustainability of work, as witnessed by the environmental certifications obtained by many entrepreneurs and that many others are trying to obtain. It is no mystery that Carlos Slim as well as Leonardo Di Caprio, are very attentive to environmental protection issues: the investment of engineer Slim, and Di Caprio’s closeness to our marble, are two extraordinary testimonies of how much appeal our city’s symbolic product has in the world, historically but also today, a product that is increasingly green and sustainable”.
He added: “I would like, in the form and manner that will be presented, to be able to, officially, host Mr Slim and also show him the great steps forward that the territory is making in the circular economy, for example, with the Carrara Marble Way projects and the specific efforts on the recovery and reuse in many fields and sectors of marble. Congratulations to Gualtiero Vanelli for such a prestigious synergy with Civiltà del Marmo, which also involves Franchi Umberto Marmi, of which he is a shareholder and director, but it is a synergy that reflexively involves the whole Carrara marble planet, and we are proud of it”.
Source: www.iltirreno.it