Milão tem algo que nenhuma outra cidade europeia pode afirmar ter: uma profunda conexão com os Alpes ao seu redor. Em dias de céu limpo, os picos cobertos de neve parecem quase ao alcance das mãos, emoldurados pelas torres do Duomo.
No início do século XX, Milão moldou a trajetória de Vitale Bramani, o alpinista e empresário por trás da Vibram. Primeiramente um talentoso alpinista, ele fundou posteriormente a Vibram e revolucionou o calçado de montanha com a sola Carrarmato, em 1937.
Neste inverno, a Vibram convida a comunidade de atividades ao ar livre, profissionais das áreas de cultura e design, jornalistas e formadores de opinião a explorar o vínculo entre Milão e os Alpes. Por meio de eventos, instalações, palestras e excursões, a empresa celebra a cidade e as montanhas como fontes de inspiração e valores que definiram a visão de Bramani e ainda hoje orientam a Vibram.
O programa conta com a participação de alpinistas renomados, figuras do mundo da cultura, instalações, palestras e excursões, realizadas em locais ligados à história da Vibram, desde a Estação Central de Milão até as montanhas da Lombardia. Ele conta a história da cultura montanhosa ao longo de gerações e perspectivas, destacando Milão e os Alpes como um pilar fundamental da identidade da Vibram.
Energia vital.
Uma viagem visual entre Milão e os Alpes.
Uma história feita de partidas e retornos, de pessoas e lugares que se procuram.
Contada em capítulos, a obra explora a profunda conexão entre a cidade e suas montanhas por meio de diversas perspectivas — atletas, poetas, testemunhas e descendentes, todos unidos por uma vitalidade compartilhada.
As rotas históricas de escalada, abertas pela primeira vez por Vitale Bramani, alpinista e fundador da Vibram, são repetidas pelos escaladores de hoje: Barbara Zangerl nas Pale di San Martino, Matteo della Bordella no Vale Maira e Pietro Vidi no Pizzo Badile. Essas escaladas marcam o ponto de encontro entre o alpinismo do passado e do presente.
A história é enriquecida pelas comoventes lembranças de Colomba Fasana sobre Bramani e pela poesia de Antonia Pozzi, onde a beleza silenciosa das montanhas reflete a energia vibrante da cidade.
Fechando o ciclo, Matteo Bramani, bisneto de Vitale, viaja do Duomo de Milão até a Grignetta com o guia de montanha Paolo Marazzi, de trem e de bicicleta, para escalar a Via degli Accademici, inaugurada em 1924.
Energia vitale Uma viagem visual entre Milão e os Alpes é o fio condutor que une essas histórias, personificado pela Vibram, a autêntica ponte entre os mundos urbano e alpino.
Como parte da série de eventos “Montanhas de Milão”, o filme oferece uma viagem cinematográfica pelo papel pioneiro da Vibram como conectora de lugares, épocas e pessoas.
1. Mountain Reflections – A Mountains of Milano Pop-Up Installation
February 18–20, 2026
12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
February 21, 2026
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Vibram Connection Lab, Via Voghera 11, Milano
The finissage of Mountains of Milano showcases the project’s findings alongside new perspectives. The installation brings together texts, images, drawings, art and vintage materials including maps and guides, expedition reports, technical manuals and memorabilia from the Vibram archive tracing the evolution of mountain culture and its visual and material history.
2. Forgotten Ascents: Reclaiming Women’s Place in Mountaineering
with artist Caterina Gobbi
February 21, 2026
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Vibram Connection Lab, Via Voghera 11, Milano
A conversation with artist Caterina Gobbi on her ongoing research into women in mountaineering and her practice across sound, performance and sculpture in dialogue with nature. The talk explores overlooked histories and reflects on how artistic research can reshape collective memory and expand contemporary perspectives on mountain culture.
3. Look at That Distant Mountain, What Can You See?
February 21, 2026
4:30 PM – 5:40 PM
Vibram Connection Lab, Via Voghera 11, Milano
A conversation with architects Bianca Felicori and EX. exploring the layered relationship between architecture, nature and the body. Through different disciplinary lenses, the dialogue reflects on perception, distance and landscape as both physical and cultural constructs.
Shelter Stories, part of Mountains of Milano, retraced the footsteps of Vitale Bramani across the Prealpi Orobie, following the routes he opened during his lifetime.
Together with Vibram athlete Hervé Barmasse, the Vibram Tester Team and local mountain guides, participants explored the mountains near Milan, learning to read the environment, understand its history and adapt to changing conditions.
For Vibram, this experience reflects a broader commitment: fostering and encouraging a more conscious approach to the mountains. Time spent in the snow, dialogue with experienced alpinists and guides, and practical sessions such as the snow safety workshop introduced the fundamentals of risk awareness observing context, assessing variability and moving with intention as essential elements for greater safety and presence in alpine environments.
At Rifugio Albani, shared reflections and a mountain-inspired culinary experience curated by Akta completed the journey, blending heritage, community and responsibility.
Shelter Stories connects past and present, honoring the legacy of those who came before while redefining how we move through the mountains today.
The Vibram Carrarmato: Imprint and Impact
From December 2nd, 2025 to January 2nd, 2026
Vibram Store, via Raffaello Sanzio 6, Milano
Ground Echo is an in-depth exploration of Vibram Carrarmato sole the first sole for mountaineering since 1937 designed and patented by Vitale Bramani within its broader historical and cultural context. A design icon that has stood the test of time, it continues to evolve through ongoing research and development.
The installation, taking place at Vibram Store, as a gate between present and history, sees the involvment of designers, researchers, and archivists offering their perspectives on the Vibram Carrarmato sole. Its history is traced through materials from the company archive and the Outdoor Recreation Archive at The University of Utah, while Vibram’s research and development team highlights the innovations and possibilities shaping its future.
Discovering the Spirit of the Mountains
October 16, 2025
Prealpi Lecchesi, Campelli Group
An excursion to discover the mountain landscapes surrounding Milan, guided by alpinist and Vibram athlete Matteo Della Bordella, the Vibram Tester Team, and local mountain guides; a day dedicated to sharing, adventure, and respect for the mountain environment. The route, accessible to everyone, also offered the opportunity to challenge oneself on vertical sections, with the chance to try climbing.
After the activities, the group visited Rifugio Lecco, an authentic symbol of the region and a key meeting point for mountain enthusiasts, stopping for lunch to enjoy traditional high-altitude cuisine.
An immersive experience in the heart of Milano
October 9, 2025
Milano Centrale Station
Echoes of Altitude is an immersive installation of sounds and scents: the Fonetica Glaciale project, an acoustic mapping of the Adamello glacier by sound artist Neunau, intertwined with the olfactory intervention of artist Sissel Tolaas. Together with culinary tastings prepared by Altatto, these elements will spark an intimate reflection on the mountain and evoke the sensation of altitude.
The evening will open at 6.30pm with a conversation featuring Neunau, Sissel Tolaas, Giovanni Baccolo and Ruggero Pietromarchi, who will moderate the conversation, guiding the dialogue between art, research and science.
Neunau is the sound research project of artist Sergio Maggioni whose ongoing work Fonetica Glaciale transforms over 15,000 hours of sound recordings, gathered across ten expeditions to the Adamello Glacier, into an auditory experience.
Sissel Tolaas is a Norwegian-Icelandic artist and scientist who has spent over three decades exploring the role of smell in human perception and memory.
Giovanni Baccolo is a researcher in glaciology and cold-environment Earth sciences at the University of Roma Tre, author of I Ghiacciai Raccontano and member of the Italian Glaciological Committee.
Ruggero Pietromarchi is a curator and cultural promoter, founder of Threes Productions and Terraforma festival.
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