Barbara Picutti Creative Contest
Archives are a repository of stories:
The Barbara Picutti Creative Contest is the right time to tell them!
The theme for 2024 is:
TOOL TALES
Plastic models and old working tools used by our professionals in the past have emerged from the storerooms of MAIRE’s Milan headquarters. From here, together with colleague Barbara Picutti, "engineer and humanist," as she liked to define herself, who passed away prematurely in June 2023, the idea for this creative contest aimed at our colleagues was born: to write a story related to one of the old tools or project models, explaining its history, functionality, and evolution over time.
The result was 29 wonderful stories, true and fictional, that transported the jury, chaired by Fabrizio Di Amato, Chairman of MAIRE and the Fondazione MAIRE, from childhood memories to mature ones, from technical objects of the past to reflections on new technologies, from imaginary journeys to everyday life stories.
The award ceremony was held on 13 June 2024, with the entire jury from Milan in Teams connection with 31 fellow writers from MAIRE offices and sites around the world, to award one winner and six special mentions:
Winner: Antonio De Simone, with the tale “Lotto 11”.
Special mentions:
- Carlo Boniardi, with the tale “Tre rose rosse” – special mention: passion
- Alessandro Calisse, with the tale “Fritz Haber: l’uomo e la storia” – special mention: historical knowledge;
- Valter Carrolo, with the tale “The quantum pressure paradox” – special mention: imagination.
- Fabio Ferrari, with the tale “Calibrare in sintesi” – special mention: historical archive;
- Michele Forlani, with the tale “Biciclette, plastica e altro” – special mention: science for life;
- Umberto Franzi, with the tale “La centrale di al nasserieh e la banconota siriana da 200 pound” – special mention: company history.
Special thanks and congratulations to all colleagues who got involved by participating in the competition!
AUTHORS, TALES AND JURY’S MOTIVATIONS
WINNER:
ANTONIO DE SIMONE [Tecnimont, Cost control engineer - Italy] “Lotto 11”
Motivation of the jury: The author has skillfully crafted a tale that gradually unfolds, with twists and turns that surprise and engage the reader right to the end. A careful choice of words, harsh and poetic at the same time, an admirable tale that masterfully blends the intensity of the African landscape, the passion for work, the risks of the job and the infinite love of a father for a daughter. A cinematographic writing, a sequence plan that dilates the protagonist's time, in the company of the stars of the desert, enclosed in the steel frame of the 11-gauge.
SPECIAL MENTIONS:
- CARLO BONIARDI [Tecnimont, Senior project engineer – Italy] for the tale “Tre rose rosse” – special mention: “PASSION”
Motivation of the jury: A story of love and loss told with sensitivity and craftsmanship, which reveals the special bond between the two protagonists as they share romantic moments in secluded places on the construction site. The contrast between the harshness of the work environment and the delicacy of their feelings creates a fascinating emotional tension that keeps the reader glued to the pages. Through flashbacks and present moments, the story takes us through the stages of their relationship, culminating in a moving and revealing finale that leaves a lasting impression.
- ALESSANDRO CALISSE [Tecnimont, Junior process engineer – Italy] for the tale “Fritz Haber: l’uomo e la storia” – special mention: “HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE”
Motivation of the jury: The narrative draws its inspiration from the true story of Fritz Haber, a famous German chemist involved in scientific discoveries of great impact, such as the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of ammonia, but turns from the outset into an original tale: Fritz Haber dialoguing with himself. His thoughts, his feelings, are the real protagonists of the tale, an intimate expression of the inner and intellectual tension between his scientific achievements and the human consequences of his inventions. Great narrative mastery that deeply engages the reader.
- VALTER CARROLO [Tecnimont, Planung Industrieanlagenbau (TPI), mechanical engineer – Germany] for the tale “The quantum pressure paradox” – special mention: “IMAGINATION”
Motivation of the jury: A fast-paced pace and apocalyptic themes characterize this disaster story, in which dystopian futures and mass extinctions are the narrative expression of the sense of disquiet resulting from the current international tensions. The style and tone of voice perfectly match this message to the “survivors”. Between history and imagination, reality and fantasy, science and science fiction, the tale has the right rhythms to be a candidate as an excellent script for Hollywood. We have one certainty: we will never look at a pressure gauge with the same eyes again.
- FABIO FERRARI [NextChem, Head of carbon and emission reduction – Italy] for the tale “Calibrare in sintesi” – special mention: “HISTORICAL ARCHIVE”
Motivation of the jury: This text celebrates the importance of the historical archive as a place of knowledge through an admirable dialogue between the instruments of the archive, each with its own personality and story to tell, capable of transporting the reader into the fascinating world of the historical archive. With a perfect construction of an animated and entertaining dialectic, reminiscent of Cicero's, and the insertion of learned quotations, this beautiful tale has the virtue of combining the lightness of the narrative with the depth of the messages, a fusion of scientific and humanistic knowledge, simplicity and complexity: all the founding elements of beauty.
- MICHELE FORLANI [Tecnimont, TCMQA project director – Italy] for the tale “Biciclette, plastica e altro” – special mention: “SCIENCE FOR LIFE”
Motivation of the jury: The story offers a profound reflection on life's crucial moments, alternating narration and introspection with an engaging and poetic style. The vivid description of childhood moments, relationships with friends and family moments are rendered with touches of nostalgia and intimacy, transporting the reader on an emotional journey through the author's memories. The narrative and engaging style alternates references to principles of physics and chemistry dropped into the characters' stories, which blend harmoniously with philosophical reflections on the meaning of life and death.
- UMBERTO FRANZI [Retired, Italy] for the tale “La centrale di Al Nasserieh e la banconota siriana da 200 Pound” – special mention: “COMPANY HISTORY”
Motivation of the jury: When business history makes history. The Al Nasserieh gas turbine power plant project in Syria becomes the protagonist of an extraordinary story, which seems to come out of the writer's imagination but is instead a faithful account of the reality experienced by our colleague. Named after the young son of Syria's President Basel Al Assad, who died prematurely, the power station was also reproduced on the Syrian £20 banknote because of the enormous importance it represented for the country's industrial development. The images depicted on the banknote are a tangible tribute to the transformative power of electricity for the country's economic and social development.
PARTICIPANTS:
ALBERTO CAVALLO [Tecnimont, Head of electrical & instrumentation - Italy] and MARCO CAMELETTI [Tecnimont, Telecom and F&G system senior specialist - Italy] with the tale "Lo stabilimento FIAT di Melfi e il sistema PRODAS"
ANDREA CAPPONI [Tecnimont, Layout, piping materials, work quantities & management group leader - Italy] with the tale "Il manometro starato"
PINO COLOMBI [Retired - Italy] with the tale "Il manometro"
MASSIMO DAPOTO [MAIRE Group, Communication manager - Italy] with the tale "La danza del deserto"
MARCO D’ARCANGELIS [KT- Kinetics Technology, Civil project leader - Italy] with the tale "Ricordi sottosopra (per colpa del cannocchiale astronomico)"
GIUSEPPE DERRICO [Tecnimont, Product conformity coordinator - Italy] with the tale "Ricordi d’infanzia ed evoluzione tecnologica"
EDOARDO DISARÒ [NextChem, Technology process junior engineer - Italy] with the tale "2168"
LEO GENTILINI [Retired - Italy] with the tale "L’ultima misura"
STEFAN ARIO GIUFFRÈ [KT- Kinetics Technology, Construction junior engineer - Italy] with the tale "Gli orizzonti del mare: la storia dell’anemometro di famiglia"
ANILKUMAR JHA [Tecnimont Private Limited, Risk engineer - India] with the tale "Analog Pressure Gauge"
MADHURA JOSHI [Tecnimont Private Limited, Civil structural design engineer - India] with the tale "Glass-traced theodolite"
NILESH PRABHAKAR JOSHI [Tecnimont Private Limited, Cost control engineer - India] with the tale "From dusk to dawn"
FRANCESCA LUBELLI [Tecnimont, Product conformity coordinator] e GIUSEPPE UNGARO [Tecnimont, Project quality manager - Italy] with the tale "L’anemometro polemico"
STEFANO MANDAS [KT- Kinetics Technology, KTFRA-Construction quality engineer - Italy] with the tale "Atrue story from Stefano Mandas related to theArchitectural Model: Fiat manufacturing plant - Melfi (PZ)”
SHAHNAWAZ MAPARI [Tecnimont Private Limited, Pressure vessels & heat exchangers engineer - India] with the tale "Theodolite"
CARLO MASETTI [Advisor - Italy] with the tale "Regolo circolare per calcoli di cemento"
ALESSANDRO MISTARINI [Tecnimont, Instrumentation materials, work quantities & management group leader - Italy] with the tale "Plastico di impianto – precursore del modello 3D"
GABRIELE PASINI [Tecnimont, Project procurement coordinator - Italy] with the tale "Storia di un manometro"
ANITHA PREMAN [Tecnimont Abu Dhabi, BO - Expediting & inspection planner - UAE] with the tale "Theodolite – A Romantic tale"
MAURIZIO RIGOLIO [Tecnimont, Environmental sustainability head of department - Italy] with the tale "L’analogico che ti salva il test"
FABIO SESSI [Tecnimont, Material supply cost engineer - Italy] with the tale "La calibrazione del tempo"
ELIO STREPPAROLA [Tecnimont, Technology chemical & petrochemical manager - Italy] with the tale "Umidità, benessere e cultura"
THE JURY
The jury was chaired by Fabrizio Di Amato, MAIRE Group chairman and Fondazione MAIRE’s President, e composed of:
- Franco Ghiringhelli, MAIRE Group Human Resources, ICT, Organization & Procurement Senior Vice President
- Carlo Nicolais, MAIRE Group Institutional Relations, Communication & Sustainability Vice President
- Gianni Bardazzi, MAIRE Group Risk Management, Special Initiatives and Regions Coordination Senior Vice President
- Sergio Paggi, Tecnimont Technology and Process Engineering Senior Advisor
- Simona Dolce, MAIRE Group Corporate Affairs, Governance & Compliance Vice President
- Maria Selli, MAIRE Group HSE&SA and Project Quality Vice President
- Fabio Brignoli, NextChem Tech Business Development Manager
- Francesca Rabino, NextChem Tech Strategic Research & Development Engineer
- Michele Pantaleo, Infrastructures Senior Project Engine
LITERARY APERITIF
A single ceremony was not enough to enhance our colleagues’ commitment and the tales we received! Thus, surrounded by the display of the instruments that inspired them, and through the extraordinary voice of Riccardo Mei, a literary aperitif was held in the afternoon of 13 June 2024 in the hall of the MAIRE offices in Milan, during which some of the narratives were read out.
An enthralling setting and an evocative reading created a magical moment for all those present, who were immersed in fantasy and at the same time led to a concrete reflection: just as the divine Muses were dear to the ancient Greeks, even today the expressive power of art is a precious tool for re-reading memory as a place of data, experiences and skills. The past writes the history of the present, and from the same past we must start to look at and build the future of scientific and human knowledge.
To relive all the excitement of the literary aperitif, watch the video here.
TOOL TALES - individual tales
In this section you can read and download each story separately.
Enjoy reading!
Our historical equipment
The old work tools of architects and engineers tell a piece of our country's industrial history.
