C1

I don't know how this one passed me by. Perhaps because it is Italian, and I'm slow to pick up on Italian builds. Or perhaps it just was not well advertised - at least outside of Italy. In much the same way as I recently featured a Japanese sim advertising a Spanish product, tonight I have an Italian sim advertising a French product. The sim in question is 'C1' and the product being advertised is a car: the Citroen C1. But not just any C1, this is the C1 Deejay, a specially pimped and prettified version perhaps only produced for the Italian market. You can see a 'hilarious' ad for it here. I profess a degree of bafflement about the semiotics of the ad, as I can't see why a middle-aged bloke should suddenly become the embodiment of the vehicle - with far-from-sidesplitting results. Maybe you have to be Italian.

From information on the website, it seems the sim has been here for around a year, and has played host to a few events. However, the traffic stats are very low (61), so I am not too sure what to make of that. The centrepiece of the island is a giant C1 Deejay. which occupies most of the sim and seems to be largely constructed from megaprims and photo-textures.


The front looks a bit rough... as if it's driven into something - maybe that lighthouse, for example. Not surprisingly, inside the C1 is a well-equipped dance floor:


The vehicle itself straddles 2 tropical islands that spell out 'C1'. I was reminded, when I saw it, of Metaversatility's 'Club Scion' in there.com. However, aside from the enormous size of the vehicles, the 2 builds seem to have little else in common.

The 2 islands on the sim have relatively little to attract the attention. Some seating and a couple of beach houses, and that's about it. I can't say I was particularly thrilled... but I suppose, on reflection, it is the biggest car I've seen in Second Life, so that must count for something.

3 Italia

Telecoms companies are well represented in Second Life. Perhaps this is inevitable, since they all like to portray their brand as associated with a combination of fun, technology and innovation - something that it is reinforced by having a presence in Second Life. One I'd not noticed before, though I daresay it's been here for ages, is the Italian division of mobile internet company, 3.

3 (or more properly: Hutchison 3G, at least in the UK) is a global brand, owned by Hutchison Whampoa, and describes itself as "the mobile media company". The name 3G comes from third generation wireless services, a high-speed cellular phone network that supports streamed video and other forms "rich content" internet media. As of December 2007, 3 Italia was the large supplier of 3G internet services in Italy, with around 8 million registered customers. It also operates HSDPA wireless broadband and Digital Mobile TV services. Hutchison Whampoa is based in Hong Kong, and has interests in a wide range of industries. I'm not clear whether they have, or simply plan to divest themselves of their holdings in 3 Italia.

As for the sim itself, it is modeled as a semi-tropical island, shaped like a number '3'. While there are numerous links to websites, and hefty promotion of the Nokia N95, I found the place to be rather lacklustre. There is only one building on the island, comprising a number of blue glass plates, loosely "stitched" together. Elsewhere you will find a bar, dance area and pool. Tucked away in the South of the island is a sort of amphitheatre. I have provided a few snaps so you can judge for yourself, but I felt the sim lacked coherence, purpose or, frankly, much of interest. If I had to make a call, I'd suggest that it was actually a "first fit" build - a rapid development to get a toehold, show to the company what is possible - it is easier to impress when there has been no other experience to compare it against - and form the foundation for a more considered build. I hope so, because its current content leaves a fair amount to be desired.

Vichy Healthy Skin

Depending on your age, and doubtless a few other factors, the word 'Vichy' is likely to conjure up a mixed bag of mental images. For some, it may be Marshal Petain and the shame of WWII collaboration; for others, it is more likely to be the natural spring waters, bottled and sold at great expense to gullible (or is that, 'discerning'?) punters. Let's go with the latter image, the healthy, rejevenating effects of the Vichy waters - and take a short trip to Vichy Healthy Skin.

This, despite the name, is actually an Italian sim, though the products being promoted here are available worldwide. The products in question are the Vichy Aqualia Thermal range of lotions and potions, which I assume take the health-giving properties of the Vichy spa water and incorporate them into a variety of skin products. Yeah... well.

The sim has been constructed by Italian builders Hikari Design, in collaboration with Web Science. It has been here for many months - but this is the first time it had impinged on my awareness. As a sim, it has the many of the features one would expect, such as a bar area, a dancefloor and plenty of informal seating. Water and (I assume) volcanic rock are the dominant features of the sim. In terms of freebies, there's a t-shirt (durrr) but of arguably more interest there are free skins (or at least faces), available in a range of hues. Before you chaps start getting too excited, I'm afraid it's "Ladies Only" - unless you are looking for 'something for the weekend' for yourself. There is also a group you can join. I didn't --- but I'm guessing it will keep you informed of exciting new happenings in the world of Vichy-themed spa products.

I have a few snaps:





I am not qualified to comment on the effectiveness of the island from a marketing perspective - but I'd be very surprised to find that it had contributed greatly to either increased sales or increased product awareness. This has little to do with the build itself, which is quite enjoyable in its own way, and everything to do with the fact that static sites - with freebies or nay - simply don't cut it.

Now back into hibernation... zzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

NGP2

Why NGP2? I have (or rather, had) no idea, but that's the name of the sim I want to tell you about tonight. It belongs to Telecom Italia, but is intended as a showcase for their many partners. A bit of rootling about on t'interweb reveals the meaning of NGP2: Next Generation Partnership Program. So that's a mystery solved. The company Telecom is Italy's domestic leader in telecommunications products, supplying 22 million fixed lines, 36.3 million mobile lines and 7.6 million Alice-branded broadband connections.

The company has had its own 4-sim presence in Second Life since it's official opening in July ,2007. Here's the machinima made to promote it at the time:

I don't know much about the history of the NGP2 sim. And, in truth, there's also not a great deal to be said about its construction. The principal element is a 20+ storey Ecosystem Tower, each floor of which is capable of holding offices for Telecom Italia partners. The offices are all identical, as far as I can see, each has an ante-room and a conference room, and differ only in the slideshows on display. They are quite densely packed, both horizontally and vertically, and therefore I doubt they could ever be used for more than the occasional meeting. There seems nothing to prevent "chat seepage" between offices. The tower also features an auditorium and, floating above the tower, a restaurant. There is a second auditorium, principallyintended for music events. Finally, there's a quartet of "immersive 360degree photo rooms" - though I'm sure a more elegant term exists for these. You can see one of them in the picture set below:

Italianieuropie

I've not blogged about any sims for a few days, so I thought I should rectify that. This is the first of 2 posts featuring sites about which I can't really muster great gushing enthusiasm. But they're sites I don't recall seeing before - and am not likely to see again - so I suppose I should just get stuck in.

The first is Italianieuropei. This is an Italian sim (surpruise!) belonging to a non-governmental organisation of the same name. According to their website, Italianieuropei is: "a Foundation established in 1998 with the aim of promoting a Europe-minded political culture and of bringing to the fore new leaders in the various public arenas: politics, business, public administration and culture. It is a think tank designed to promote discussions, within public opinion, on the main issues posed by political and economic innovation and on the steps Italy must take in order to redefine its political and cultural foundations." And there's more where that came from.

In terms of their Second Life presence, it seems they are another outfit who have been inworld since the Summer of 2007 and yet whose existence has only just registered with me. They have a website (in Italian) that tracks their various inworld events.

I'm actually quite surprised that they have been inworld for so long. My reason for saying this is the relative immaturity of the sim. It has an attactive auditorium, information centre and photo wall, but the rest of the sim feels like work in progress. An Italaniate palazzo serves as office space, and is quite nicely done out, but there is something indefinably unfinished about it, while the formal garden next door is bordering on the rudimentary.

I have to say, though, why would I go to Second Life to attend a meeting if I had the choice of some of the atomic world locations they use? Some of the photos on display bring to mind some wonderful, satirical photomontage, juxtaposing modern day be-suited worthies, with Old Master Renaissance interiors. I needed a doubletake to realise that these people really are sitting amid all this splendour!


And here's rest of the sim:

Style Magazine

There must be more Style Magazines knocking about the World's publishing houses than I've had hot dinners. Actually, on reflection, this statement is almost certainly a load of cobblers. However I will maintain that the principle is sound - ie: there are many magazines around the globe that share this title. Tonight, while having a general mooch in Second Life, I found one of them.

This one belongs to the famous Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera. The paper has been around since 1876, and has a circulation of over 600,000, but I don't know much about its Style Magazine, other than it has its own Second Life island and related website.

The island is quite an impressive construction, making extensive use of those fiddly shadow textures to enhance that 3D look and feel. It is a little hard to make out the overall shape of the place, and although it has been open since mid-2007, it seems to be in a state of flux, with new exhibitions being installed. There's a lot of arty stuff here - almost exclusively 20th Century (some more recent) and perhaps unsurprisingly, given that it's an Italian site, this includes a major exhibition on Futurism. The main exhibition area is given over to Cirque Du Soleil's Delirium show. It is a collections of stills and (in theory) some video of this "live music concert that pushes the limit of arena performance."

There's a lot more - including huge amounts of good quality freebies: clothing; accessories and furniture. There's also an opportunity to pickup some cool-looking radios, and participate in a design challenge, to design another radio to join the collection. If that seems like too much, why not vie to be Avatar of the Month instead? I am impressed with the range of engaging activities on offer here, along with a regular and frequent event schedule. The tie-in website also looks impressive, with a comprehensive range of topics. They seem to sinking a lot of thought and a lot of energy into this island, and I hope that effort is rewarded. Oh.. and although I've not had time to watch them yet, there is a set of movies on YouTube too.

Here's my photoset:

Avatarc

Phew! In my last post I basically arrived a few months too early for the island in question, whereas this time I have arrived a few months too late. I'm just back from my first visit - the first of many, I suspect - to the Avatarc sim. The name, as far as I can make out, is a melding of "avatar" and "architecture" and is closely bound with a website of the same name.

According to the website: "AVATARC is a team made of highly qualified professionals who have the expertise to develop projects inside the virtual world with architects, programmers, videoproducers, and communications and marketing experts. In the real world, Avatarc exists in Milan, Rome, and Siena; in the SecondLife virtual world it is located on Avatarc Island! A laboratory, born with the objective of applying creative research methods to the language of the virtual worlds, Avatarc utilizes interaction and communication design studies to three-dimensional planning. Avatarc constantly seeks to apply new technologies; because of its experimental character, the team develops original communication solutions that can transfer cutting-edge experiences in communication, production and cultural markets."

Ummm... if I am hacking through the hyperbole correctly, this seems to be saying "Avatarc is an [8-person] innovative Italian virtual world design and build company." Damn... I now need to add return trips to the website to my "to do" list, as well as return trips to the island.

You will gather that I rather like the island. My problem now is where to begin. Perhaps with the tour. In one corner of the island you will find a trio of tall spike-like platforms, faintly reminiscent of golf tees. The platforms provide all you need to get started - including a map of the sim, an outline of the main exhibitions, and the "cloud shuttle". This does exactly what it says: it's a cloud that acts as a shuttle between locations on the sim. If you opt to stay on it, you will get the full tour, which takes several minutes (a long time in SL !).

The sim is dominated by 3 great floating spheres, currently labelled: Visual Art Section; Meeting Ball and Competition 07 Movie Theater. Each sphere provides a sizeable auditorium and display space. Along 3 sides of the sim you will see a number of coloured hemispheres, each containing a slideshow. These (I think) provide the main permanent exhibitions on the island: Friends for Water; Surreal Architecture and The Making of An Island. The fourth side of the island seems to be taken up with resident builds and a beach, for that all-important socialising. Elsewhere you will find all manner of items, including a rather fine giant chess set.

The last feature of the island is the Visionaria 2007 film festival. You will find this at ground level, and comprises a number of booths (some now shut) each screening a different short movie. The festival was held back in October, hence my comment about arriving too late. As far as I can tell, movie-goers would move from booth to booth and at the end make their votes. Further discussion would then take place in the Competition 07 Movie Theater sphere.

Here's my portfolio of snaps:

And here's a movie from the company:

Avatarc_video_01
by avatarc

Gruppo Banca Carige

Banks in Second Life seem to be emerging as one of my themes of the month. As two Dutch bank prepare to depart from Second Life, here's an Italian bank on its way in.

While having a look around the growing Italian area of Second Life (which looks quite weird on the map view incidentally) I saw a name I didn't recognise. Most of the sims in this part of the grid are named after Italian cities and/or regions - but Carige was not familiar to me, so I went along for a look. It turns out to belong to Italian bank Gruppo Banca Carige. Based in Genoa, and with over 900 branches throughout Italy, the group employs over 5000, and serves 1.7million customers. I don't know when the Second Life branch was opened. In fact, I will stick my neck out here, and say that this branch is not yet complete and not really open to the public.

OK, actually this seems like a safe bet to me. Although the majority of the building work is complete, there are parts, particularly in the Leisure Area, where there is still a reasonable amount of work to do - for example, dropping the putting green onto the island surface (it currently hovers around a metre above it). There are a few such "floating" objects that need to be tethered.

However, to be fair, the bulk of the island is in good shape. It is dominated by a large, modern office building, resembling a set of billowing sails. It is still a tad spartan inside, but it is evident that work is in progress. Beyond the office building, in one corner of the island, sits an outdoor auditorium. At the moment the seating is simply floating in mid air, a feature I like! However, more sober heads may decide that this minimalist and distinctly NPIRL* approach to auditoria is going too far. I shall look forward to checking this on a subsequent return visit.

The previously mentioned Leisure Area seems to take up around a third of the island, with a (short!) golf course, tennis court, gym and pool. In a nod towards the city of Genoa, there seems to be a recreation of the city's lighthouse. But we've not finished yet - no sirree. There are several more buildings - all largely complete: a recruitment office; an overseas relations office and meeting spaces for both domestic and business clients. Oh... and finally, there's a dance area. Phew! And all of these set around an ornamental lake. It is a neat piece of juggling to fit in all of these features without it looking strained and crowded. Here's the photos from my trip (there's a lot of them, so I've reverted to PictoBrowser):

Will this see a change in the perceptions of SL by RL banks? Nah... can't see it myself. But I hope Banca Carige enjoy their virtual adventure.

Lega Volley Femminile

Shortly after hitting a Slough of Despond yesterday, fearing that I'd never find a commercial sim I could enjoy, rescue came in the unlikely form of Italian Ladies' Volleyball. The Legavolley Femminile, or Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile, to give its full(?) name, have an island that is still under development - but is already showing great promise.

The island comprises a number of buildings, linked by pathways. The buildings, which are quite subtly modelled on a volleyball, serve different functions. At the moment the sim is somewhat short on links or information, which I assume is yet to be integrated into the build, and so the function of some of the buildings remains a mystery. However, one serves as an auditorium, while another contains a volleyball court. What I think sets this sim apart from the average commercial sim is the cleverness of the design and the care taken in its implementation. It is hard to explain - and perhaps only makes sense to me - but there is an intriguing blend of simplicity and complexity: from a distancemany items appear simple enough, but under more scrutiny, reveal details that were not initially apparent. If you like: "the more you look, the more you see." The textures are well chosen too, to optimise the sense of 3D. Here's a few pictures to give you a flavour of the place:

There's a short machinima you might enjoy here, though it focuses on the team colours, and shows nothing of the build.

Italia Vera 3D

In the Summer of last year you might have noticed a flurry of Italian sims arriving in Second Life. In fact, SLNN carried this article back in July, in which it highlighted the work of Italian builders Italia Vera 3D. At the time, they were planning to develop an ambitious 24 sim presence in Second Life, modelling it on a map of Italy. The original plan, according to SLNN, was to have the whole thing finished by November.

While that target has come and gone, development appears to have continued. I was peering aimlessly in the North East corner of the Second Life map when I espied a large group of Italian sims - some connected to form larger land masses, others standing alone or in pairs, to form an extended archipelago. A couple of these sims showed signs of occupation, so I hit the teleport button and went to have a look.

I settled on the Romagna Veneto sim as my starting point. There was not a whole lot happening at ground level, but at much higher altitude I found an Italian town under construction. This town happens to be a recreation Marostica. At the heart of the town of Marostica is the Chess Square, the Lower Castle and The Doglione. Each September of every even numbered year, a human chess game is played in full medieval costume on the Chess Square, in a festival that lasts for 3 days. These signature features of the town are being reproduced here.

Nearby - and higher up - I also came across work on virtual Milan. A highly-detailed rendering of Milan Cathedral seems to be the main work in progress, though building is also proceeding on Castello Sforzesco and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It strikes me that there is an enormous amount of work still to do, but I took some pictures to give you some idea on progress to date:

Given the huge amount of care being put into this, not to mention the huge amount of money, I have to wonder about the approach being taken. It strikes me that the recreation of RL buildings in SL, while it can initially seem like a good idea, can become an obsession. While it is great to build somewhere around which SL Italians may wish to form communities, I am struggling to see where the return on investment is coming from. This is a large, complex build - and one which cannot be easily throttled back if finances are constrained. It is either a "faithful reconstruction" or it isn't - and the latter is not an option.

On the plus side, if and/or when it is ever completed it will be an amazing series of showpieces.

Almaviva

I've been a bit lazy about posting for a number of days, but finally my conscience (or is it my addiction?) has got the better of me and so I thought I would bring you the Italian commercial sim: Almaviva - or more correctly, AlmavivA. I had originally hoped that this would be another Slambling scoop - an event as rare a rocking-horse poop these days. But once again it seems that I am about 6 months too late to claim anything in the scooping department, or indeed the rocking-horse pooping department for that matter.

AlmavivA describes itself as "the Italian Innovation Company" - in effect an IT services company combining Business Process Outsourcing and Customer Relationship Management solutions. In fact, the AlmavivA Group is made up of 20 companies with around 15,000 staff and "collaborators" (that's the word used on the website), mainly in Italy - but also with offices Tunisia, Brazil, Romania and Sardinia. The group’s turnover in 2006 was a very respectable 707 million euros. They opened their island in Second Life way back in July, 2007. You can find here an interview with AlmavivA's Marketing and Business Development Manager, Valeria Sandei. I have taken the liberty of lifting a few quotes I think capture the essence of the interview:

• AlmavivA were up for the 'challenge of trying out new communication and marketing strategies, a new way of “interacting virtually".'
• 'compared to other image strengthening operations, Second Life is a relatively low-cost option...'
• before stressing: 'our presence in the virtual universe is in any case fully consistent with the image of a company that has always focused on innovation.'

The Second Life island is pleasant enough - if unexceptional. This can be explained by the fact that it was self-built by their Service Line System Integration unit. And actually it's pretty good for a first attempt. If I had built it, I'd certainly be rather pleased with myself. Based on a semi-tropical theme, most of the island is given over to pleasant landscaping, with only the occasional building. The principal building is a large, blue-glass office block, where you will find a bunch of information about the company. There is also a sizeable open-air auditorium with an active video screen. Judging from the menu at the side, there is a good choice of (rather worthy?) business videos you can watch. For those wishing to socialise and engage, there is a beach side bar and an amusements room, while for the more intrepid there is a boat trip (though I am not sure if this can be used without a member of staff present). I did not have long to explore, but I did not find a treasure trove of freebies. Here are a few snaps:




This sim is not going to set new standards in corporate builds, but it is straightforward, has all the basics one would need and has served as a valuable training tool for the internal build team. I am not aware of it receiving much press (Google seemed unable to locate much in the way of news or blogs about it), which would suggest that perhaps it could have been promoted better. I am not sure it works terribly well as a public island promoting the brand -after all, it is "just another corp sim." However, I can see that it would work well as a client venue, or indeed as a meeting place for staff from the 20 companies, otherwise spread throughout Italy and, indeed, in place rather further afield.

Inter Milan - Under Construction

Regular readers may breathe a sigh of relief when they realise that this post does not concern itself with Japanese islands in Second Life. Just for a change, I thought I would tell you a bit about an Italian island, Inter Official Site. As the name might suggest, this is the official site for Italian football ("soccer" for those of you in North America) club, FC Internazionale Milano - better known simply as Inter.

Inter is one of the giants of world football. It was founded in 1908 following a "frank and open exchange of views" within the Milan Cricket and Football Club. A group of Italians and Swiss, unhappy about the domination of Italians in the AC Milan team, broke away and formed Internazionale, offering places to foreign as well as Italian players. Quite how this situation came about is something of a mystery to me, since AC Milan was founded only a few years earlier, in 1899, as the Milan cricket club by a group of British ex-patriates. I am struggling to see how it could become so thoroughly italianate in such a short period. An ironic twist is that the "international" team uses the Italian "Milano", while the Italian-dominated AC preserve their British roots by using the English "Milan." Since its creation Inter has never been out of the top flight of Italian football, Serie A, which they have won 15 times.

The island is still under construction and is a bit messy at the moment. You arrive before an imposing blue-and-black glass archway. As I am sure you have figured out, the team colour are blue-and-black, and this combination occurs just about everywhere. Beyond the arch, underneath a giant football shirt, you will find a large meeting area. At the back of this is an old Milanese building which perhaps I should recognise - but I don't. To the left you will see a number of footie photos, and behind a glass barrier, half a football pitch. Why only half? No idea. Perhaps, as the build progresses it will disappear altogether - or be shrunk down to a 5-a-side pitch. There is an optimistically large amount of public seating overlooking the pitch. The last main feature is a the blue-and-black tubeway that borders most of the island. I could not find a teleport entrance to this - but one end is open, so you can fly up if you wish. The tube features images from the club's history, right up to the winning of the scudetto - the award for winning Serie A - in 2007.





Nic at Kzero posted an entry about the island some weeks ago. You find it interesting to compare and contrast "then" and "now".

Although a fair amount has been built, it currently lacks much shape and offers little for the visitor, even for fans. It looks to me that a great deal more work will need to be carried out before this build can be considered to be finished.

+++

For info - I finally got around to upgrading my graphics card. I had been labouring along with a GeForce 6200, which to be fair had done a tolerable job. However, the (re-)arrival of Windlight starkly revealed the shortcomings of this card. I went for as good an AGP card as I could, given I have no plans for replacing my old workhorse PC in the foreseeable future, and opted for a GeForce 7800. This then meant investing in a new power supply, too, since this is a greedy little sucker. Amazingly, I don't seem to have a complete b0ll0ck of installing it all, and the new card munches through graphics like a very hungry, graphic-munching thing. Nice!

San Francesco D'Assisi

After my giddy romp across the world of entertainment over the last week or so, it seemed a good point to seek out something gentler and more spiritually nourishing. I therefore took myself off to a monastery for some quiet contemplation. Well... it sounds good, but in truth a good friend suggested I should go along to see this: the virtual Basilica (and monastery) of San Franceso D'Assisi. The real world monastery, along with the lower and upper churches, date back to the first half of the 13th Century, and are decorated with frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto, parts of which were damaged in an earthquake in 1997, which also killed 4 unfortunates. A more complete description of this world heritage site, with some excellent photos, can be found here. Keep those photos in mind, as you might want to compare them with the ones below! The Second Life site for Assisi is supported by an informative website.

I don't want to dwell too long on this, so I will cut to the chase and let you get a good look first (don't forget - you can click on the images to get larger versions).

Outside (Note there is a visitors' guide HUD):


The Upper Church:




The Lower Church and Crypt:


On arrival this place doesn't look that impressive. There's a number of tourism-related websites and a large gateway, the other side of which lies the basilica and monastery (friary?) complex. You can pick up a HUD here, to provide you with a guided tour. As I passed through the gateway I thought that the external textures were OK, but tending to the bland side. I got no real sense of substance from them.

However, it is when you enter the basilica that it suddenly gets very interesting. You move from the relative blandness of the exterior stonework to the sumptuous, beautifully reproduced interior, with its frescoes, arches and stained glass windows. I hope the pictures above give at least some sense of this. If you click on the various frescoes notices appear, telling you a little about the paintings.

The richness and depth of the build continues downstairs, in the lower church and, below that, the Crypt of Saint Francis. I understand it is a faithful reproduction of the real world building, in all its complexity - and one heck of an achievement.

This is a really interesting build - and well worth the visit, if only to gawp at the many wonderful frescoes. Sure, it's even better visiting the real thing (it's 20 years since I was there) - but we can't all do that. So take the green, energy-efficient, low-emissions route, and visit Assisi in Second Life.

Rene Caovilla

I'm not what you'd call a big footwear fan. Oh, I wear shoes, but I view them as a necessary evil - and hate the process of actually buying the damned things. So this posting may come as a bit of a surprise - since the star of the piece is Italian shoe and accessory designer, Rene Caovilla. Out on my rambles this evening I spotted the intriguingly-named: Caovilla Venice. To be fair, it was the "Venice" that attracted my attention - not the "Caovilla", which until now was not a word I was familiar with.

The island, as you will have surmised, belongs to Rene Caovilla. As well as fashion accessories, the Caovilla family has many business interests. For example, "he is the major shareholder of the Gazzettino daily newspaper and a member of the Voting Syndicate of the Banca Antonveneta, besides owning a large real-estate portfolio which includes the Fattoria di Mugnano...the next major step is the opening of the first own-brand boutique in Milan; a luxury salon in the heart of the town, at Via Bagutta 28, furnished with works of art, wall tapestries and architectural features from 18th century Venice." The company itself is now based just outside Venice.

The island brings together a number of Venice's most famous architectural masterpieces, including the Rialto bridge, the campanile in Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace. The showroom for Rene Caovilla sits in the middle of the island. There are a number of water taxis and gondola, but sadly they are not scripted, and so they sit there looking pretty - but are otherwise pretty useless. In fact, the same can be said for much of the island - it looks pretty, but it does not engage with you. As a 3D advertisement, it may be OK - I actually like the showroom building - but the island lacks spirit. It also seems to be missing the spirit of Venice itself. In place of the narrow, claustrophobic alleys and canals, with startlingly beautiful views at the least expected moments, this island has large open areas of green lawns, and enough sky to make even a mild agoraphobic nervous - most un-Venetian. There is also no concept of community here. As I said, it appears to be treating the space as a large 3D billboard. If this is their intention I think they will be disappointed in the traffic it will generate.

But enough of such carping - here's what it looks like:


The showroom - by day and by night:


Let me know what you think. Am I being too harsh? Have I missed something?

UPDATE 09-10-07: See comments, where the builder, Lupo Ellison, explains that the island is actually still under construction, and that plans are afoot to make it more typically Venetian. I plan to go back in a month or two, to see how it has evolved.

A Strange Time in Villa Adrianna

Aware that I've been slacking in my aim of locating the less well-known parts of SL, I went for a ramble this evening and turned up Villa Adrianna, a sim that seems to bear only a passing resemblance to Emperor Hadrian's villa of the same name at Tivoli, near Rome.

It has been constructed by the enigmatically named WereTomato (contactable at WereTomato@gmail.com) who describe themselves thus: "WereTomato operates in 3D platforms, [such] as SecondLife where we build fresh new islands for big clients, but we also offer single parcels to smaller clients. Our goal is to provide high quality. Our team is composed of Architects involved in professional and academic career in their Real Life; we have expertise in Architecture, Interior Design, Industrial Design and Urban Planning. " I think you get the gist.

In describing the Villa Adrianna sim they say: "The Sim design is focused on [a] theoretical basis you can read on [the] lumesarch web site . Villa Adriana is not just a reproduction of the famous roman imperial palace by Adriano (Hadrian) but a critical interpretation of its spaces. "



I think I need to break away from the EuroEnglish of the WereTomato prose at this point, and try to interpret their description of the main aims of the island. The main aims are to provide:

• A Lumesarch University facility to develop architecture classes thatwill soon deliver lessons to students in both Europe and USA.
• The Teatro Marittimo, an exhibition and theatre space hosting plays and events to be performed live in both SL and RL simultaneously, in locations including New York, Rome, London and Paris.
• WAM, or the Web Art “Mous”eum, a museum and laboratory dedicated to web-based art; a real museum hosting new exhibitions and performances monthly.
• BitSalad Gallery, a gallery for contemporary art: BitSalad will feature international artists and special events delivering the best art from the most important galleries in New York, London, Paris, Roma, Firenze, Tokyo etc. (I'm only translating here - it seems a tall order to me)
• Villa Adriana, also offers some commercial and residential space.
  

So what did I make of it? Well I found it a baffling and interesting site. I have no idea whether it is finished, or only half-built! There is a strange mix of old Roman walls and mosaics, and ultra-modern glass and steel. The structure of the site is complex, with little (perhaps no) natural walkways. Rather there are a number of small meeting and performance areas, connected (perhaps!) by a maze of passageways. Oh... and there is a strange (is it Art?) movie, supposedly based on a Philip K Dick story. Here's some snaps by way of illustration:


Is it Art? Or pretentious bull poop? I don't know - what do you think?