To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Costa Cruises will be hosting a series of events in Genoa, the Italian city where the company’s history began in 1948.
Marking the anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Anna C, the first passenger ship of Costa’s fleet, the celebration takes place between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27.
On the evening of Friday, Oct. 20, Costa Cruises will offer the Ligurian city the Monumental Tour. According to the company, the never-seen-before-in-Italy event will be open to public and will feature a show intertwining electronic music, cultural heritage, and digital art, created by the French DJ and producer Michael Canitrot.
The Monumental Tour was born from the idea of making the artistic heritage of cities interact with new technologies, Costa said in a press release, rediscovering the monuments from a new point of view thanks to electronic music played live by DJs and immersive sets that blend light-show and video-mapping.
The monument chosen for this occasion is Palazzo Ducale. The main façade of the palace, overlooking Piazza Matteotti, will come alive with a show of images and lights, whose theme will be Genoa, its history and the sea.
The initiative will have the patronage of the Municipality of Genoa and the Region of Liguria, Costa said.
The Monumental Tour will be anticipated by a cocktail party onboard the Costa Toscana in collaboration with Vanity Fair Italia.
The menu onboard will be curated by the Italian chef Bruno Barbieri and accompanied by Ferrari Trento wines, with a personalized label created for the special occasion.
To celebrate the event in style, there will be a red carpet onboard, where guests can walk the runway and become the stars of an exclusive photo shoot, the company said.
Closing the evening, the Italian artist Malika Ayane will make a special performance onboard the Costa Toscana.
The 75th anniversary celebration program also includes an initiative to support the Community of San’Egidio. According to Costa, the local organization plays a vital role in helping vulnerable individuals.
On Thursday, Oct. 19, at the cloister of the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata, Costa Cruises’ chefs will prepare a special lunch for around 150 guests of the community, with the participation of chef Bruno Barbieri.
Costa Crociere Foundation has been supporting the Community of Sant’Egidio since 2015, the company said, as part of a food assistance project that has so far seen the distribution of around one million meals.
On Monday, Oct. 23, the Italian comedian Angelo Pintus will perform his show at the Politeama Genovese theater.
As part of the celebration anniversary celebrations, the event will have its entire proceeds of the evening donated to the Gaslini Paediatric Hospital in Genoa.
Costa Cruises, meanwhile, will double the total amount, adding a donation equal to the evening’s takings.
A second event dedicated to the Gaslini Hospital will be on Friday, Oct. 27, with a group of young patients from the hospital and their families coming onboard the Costa Toscana in Genoa.
The guests will embark for a day of discovery that includes special entertainment activities and a lunch designed especially for them, the company said.
They will also be joined by Mattia Villardita “SpiderMan”, the man who dresses as the superhero, bringing smiles to children hospitalized in healthcare facilities in the Liguria region.
Finally, Costa will be the brand sponsor of the 40th annual assembly of ANCI, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, which will take place at the Blue Pavilion of the Genoa Fair from Oct. 24 to Oct. 26.
As part of this event, Costa will host a workshop dedicated to ‘Guardiani della Costa’, the national environmental education and ‘citizen science’ project for Italian students promoted by the Costa Crociere Foundation.
“Throughout all these years, day after day, Costa has been taking millions of guests on cruises around the world, sharing the happy and unforgettable moments of their holidays,” said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises.
“On this special anniversary, our desire is to share equally unique emotions with the city of Genoa, through a magnificent show in one of the city’s most iconic squares. However, Costa also aims to maintain its role as a responsible member of the Genoese community, where our company originated, by bringing smiles and tangible assistance to those who are most in need,” he added.
“75 years represent an extraordinary milestone for Costa, the company born in our city that continues to carry the name of Genoa high in the world,” said Marco Bucci, Mayor of Genoa.
The cruise market has been experiencing exponential growth in recent months and Genoa plays an increasingly central role in the global cruise industry, with millions of people every year having the chance to discover the beauty of our city thanks to the ships arriving in our port. We are happy that Costa has decided to organize a great series of initiatives to share and celebrate this milestone,” he added.
