A Friday Visit with Jim Korkis: Italy in Epcot’s World Showcase

By Dave Shute

Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

REVISITING THE ITALY PAVILION

By Jim Korkis

Two massive columns can be found in the Piazzetta di San Marco in Venice, Italy. On top of the western column is a statue of Saint Theodore of Amasea slaying a dragon, and on top of the eastern column is a winged lion, a symbol closely associated with Saint Mark, the patron saint of the city. At different times, each of these saints were each considered the guardian of the city.

The winged lion has become the symbol of Venice and is also represented on the side of the Doge’s Palace. Public executions and legal gambling took place between the two columns. These famous columns have been duplicated in a smaller scale version for the entrance of the Italian pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase.

Most towns across Italy were built around piazzas or town squares where people could mingle, interact and do their daily business. At this pavilion, there is the Piazza del Teatro (Theater Plaza) where a raised circular stage was built to showcase performances by groups like a street theater Commedia Dell Arte troupe known as the World Showcase Players and an instrumental group called Rondo Veneziano.

Surrounding the piazza is a wall. At the far end was the giardino, or garden, and behind the wall, Imagineers planted olive, cypress, pine and date palms on mounds to give the impression of an Italian provincial countryside that continued on forever and to hide the backstage perimeter road.

The planted trees were of varying ages to try to give the forest an authentic look. Originally there were plans for a gondola dark ride in this area that for budgetary and time restrictions was eliminated as the pavilion was being built.

To the right hand side of the wall is an ornamental gate, flanked by columns constructed from capitals of various designs. It is meant to look as if someone took the capitals from ancient ruins and piled one on top of the other to create this feature.

It was the intention of the Imagineers that this location was going to include replicas of Roman ruins. When budgetary issues resulted in that plan being abandoned, the designers adapted part of those features to build the gate. The columns look as if they’ve been constructed from the relics of other columns because they were originally designed to represent ruins.

The wall is overflowing with grape vines to represent Italy’s wine industry, one of the largest producers in the world.

Fountains can be found everywhere in Italy and many of them were designed by the nation’s most prominent artists. The Fontana di Nettuno (Neptune’s Fountain) in the pavilion is inspired by the sculpture work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and such fountains as Rome’s Fontana del Nettuno, sculpted by Giovanni Ceccarini.

The fountain exemplifies the massive and elaborate style of many Italian fountains. It features the sea-god from Roman mythology accompanied by two dolphin companions who act as his messengers. The statue was framed with rebar and then sprayed with gunite (a mixture of cement, sand and water) to look like stone.

Those same dolphin designs can be found on other areas of Disney property from the door handles at the Doge’s Palace, to the ones at the Beach Club Resort that lead outside, to the enormous statues on top of the Dolphin Resort.

The water in this fountain is propelled through the dolphins’ mouths by a pump concealed within the structure behind it.

The coloring of the pavilion features delicate hues that are distinctive to Italy. A warm palette of shades of pink, reds, oranges, and yellow abound on the buildings and even the pottery.

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Thanks, Jim! And here’s more on Italy from The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2018: