On 28 May 2026, the presentation of the photographic project “In-genium. Gazes into technology past and future” promoted by MAIRE and the Fondazione MAIRE – ETS in collaboration with the Parco Archeologico del Colosseoand under the patronage of the University of Catania, which inaugurated the eponymous exhibition hosted at the Museo dei Saperi e delle Mirabilia Siciliane.

The photography project “In-genium. Gazes into technology past and future” comes to Catania to bring heritage, art and innovation together in dialogue. Through the language of contemporary photography, In-genium explores the link between the ingenuity of our ancestors and the challenges of today’s technology, offering a fresh perspective on the value of “know-how” and its evolution over time.

The initiative stems from a shared, experimental project: an artist residency in Rome, coordinated by Carmelo Nicosia, Director of the photography school at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania. The initiative involved students and lecturers from the Accademie di Belle Arti of Brera, Rome and Catania in a shared experience of exploring the iconic sites of ancient technology – those of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo in Rome, a partner in the project – reinterpreted with a contemporary sensibility.

Following the success of the previous stops in Rome and Milan, the third instalment of the “In-genium” exhibition has arrived in Catania, the home of one of the academies involved in the initiative, and where the MAIRE Group opened a new engineering hub in November 2024 – a centre of excellence dedicated to the development of advanced technological and engineering solutions for the energy transition. The In-genium project thus forms part of an ecosystem already rich in research, training and collaboration with the local communities, helping to strengthen the city’s role as a strategic hub for the engineering of the future.

The exhibition, hosted at the Museo dei Saperi e delle Mirabilia Siciliane and open until 30 June, guides visitors through six key themes – progettare, misurare, canalizzare, miscelare, sollevare, riutilizzare/ designing, measuring, channelling, mixing, lifting, reusing – which illustrate the ongoing dialogue between past and present.

The event opened with institutional greetings from Enrico Foti, Rector of the Università degli Studi di Catania, Enrico Trantino, Mayor of Catania, Monica Luca, President of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Committee of Confindustria Catania and Fabrizio Di Amato, Founder and Chairman of MAIRE and Fondazione MAIRE – ETS.

This was followed by a roundtable featuring Lina Scalisi, Pro-Rector of the Università degli Studi di Catania and President of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania, Germana Barone, Director of the Museo dei Saperi e delle Mirabilia Siciliane, Franco Ghiringhelli, MAIRE Group Human Resources, ICT, Organization & Procurement SVP, Carlo Nicolais, MAIRE Group Institutional Relations, Communication & Sustainability VP, Mauro Scaccianoce, President of the Order of Engineers of Catania, and Lina Scalisi. Lastly, Carmelo Nicosia spoke with photographers Gabriele Argentino, Carmen Cardillo and Giuseppe Calabrese, who took part in the project.

To mark the conclusion of the conference, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a guided tour officially opened the exhibition at the Museo dei Saperi e delle Mirabilia Siciliane.

Fabrizio Di Amato, Founder and Chairman of MAIRE and Fondazione MAIRE – ETS, stressed the importance of the initiative: “In-genium was born from the desire to tell the story of human ingenuity as a continuous thread running through the centuries – from the legacy of the ancients to the challenges of contemporary technology – an invitation to revisit the relationship between technical knowledge and the humanistic dimension. Catania is a place where MAIRE invests tangibly – in skills, in young people, in the future – and the bond with the University and the Accademie di Belle Arti makes it even more meaningful. The humanist engineer we refer to in this project is not an abstraction: it is someone who can combine technical expertise with cultural awareness, and who today is essential to develop and apply innovative technologies in the industrial processes of the energy transition”.

In-genium is also a book, published by Silvana Editoriale, and a podcast – ‘Futuro Anteriore’, produced by Chora Media and narrated by Jacopo Veneziani – available on the main streaming platforms (In Italian).