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ENERGY AND ITS PORTRAITS

Urban Up | Unipol presents on the ground floor of De Castillia 23 a selection of 20 photos taken by photographer Marco Garofalo from the “Ritratti di energia. Storie di persone, luoghi e dignità” and “Energy Portraits, the Global South” projects for Milan Design Week 2026.

The RITRATTI DI ENERGIA. STORIE DI PERSONE, LUOGHI E DIGNITÀ section celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Banco dell’ Energia (energy bank) Foundation; it captures the essence of several big projects that have been tackling energy poverty in Italy (including Milan, Rome, Bergamo, Potenza, Cagliari, Turin, Foggia and Naples among others) since the Foundation was established 10 years ago. The full exhibition can be viewed in Via Dante in Milan up to 26 April. The Banco dell’ Energia Foundation is a non-profit entity that collects funds to support vulnerable people and households, with a special emphasis on energy poverty. Since 2016, over 15 million euros have been collected and distributed to help over 17,000 people.

The ENERGY PORTRAITS - THE GLOBAL SOUTH section of the exhibition uses pictures and witness accounts to show the difficulties encountered in accessing energy in countries that include Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Bolivia, India and Poland among others. The project takes a realistic, humane look at the issue, weaving together stories, places and perspectives to highlight a global challenge that is still all too often ignored. Close to one billion people still live without access to electricity, while almost two billion depend on wood or biomass to cook and warm themselves. Global energy poverty is this: an unspoken inequality throughout the world that affects the life quality of millions of people. Issues on which to reflect and gaps which are only set to widen over the next few years.

Milan,
April 20 2026