The Rothschild Giraffe, by Allegrucci, is the protagonist of the International Exhibition Inequalities

The Milan Triennale is transformed into a hub of international reflection with the arrival of the monumental Rothschild giraffe, a papier-mâché work by artist Jacopo Allegrucci, the protagonist of the series "The Fragility of the Future," presented as part of the 24th International Exhibition: Inequalities. From September 9 to October 6, 2025, the giraffe will welcome visitors at the entrance, taking over from the Namibian elephant. The hippopotamus will follow, completing the narrative of a deeply symbolic trilogy dedicated to the environmental and social fractures that mark our time.

Allegrucci has chosen to depict animals at risk of extinction to generate an immediate emotional impact and prompt a collective reflection on global inequalities. The Rothschild giraffe, a true icon of animal vulnerability, is distinguished by its five horns and its lighter coat, with completely white lower legs: details that underscore the uniqueness and rarity of the subspecies, today consisting of only a few hundred individuals surviving in Kenya and Uganda. The sculpture, as tall as a true African giraffe, stands out with its bent neck and melancholic gaze: a posture that expresses the discomfort and hardship of a species threatened by the direct effects of environmental and social inequalities. The use of papier-mâché, a perishable material destined to suffer the ravages of time, becomes a metaphor for the transience of life and the fragility of our ecological balance.

The installation aims to be much more than a simple celebration of biodiversity. Allegrucci's cycle—inaugurated with the blue whale, sadly vandalized last July, and continued with the Namibian elephant now on display in the Triennale Garden—tells the story of animals symbolic of the environmental crisis and exposes, before the public, the vulnerability of threatened species and the precariousness of natural resources. Following the giraffe, the hippopotamus will arrive on October 6th, concluding the narrative. Each work is conceived as a visual reminder: the fragility of recyclable materials amplifies the urgent message of sustainability, ecological awareness, and social responsibility.

Allegrucci, a participant in the global debate on "Inequalities," thus reaffirms the original function of art as an accessible and transversal tool for raising awareness. Each sculpture, exposed to the elements and destined to deteriorate, becomes a living memory and metaphor for the ephemeral resistance of humans and animals in the face of an increasingly threatened nature. The project, supported by the Triennale's management, invites citizens and tourists to engage directly with the theme of responsibility toward the planet.

The International Exhibition Inequalities, open until November 9th, thus offers a call to responsibility: Rothschild's giraffe becomes the spokesperson for a narrative that goes beyond denouncing crises, but instead inspires action and the development of new models for coexistence between humanity and the environment. The public is introduced to an immersive journey that transcends the boundaries between art, science, and education, inviting them to reconsider their role in protecting diversity and defending natural balances.

Allegrucci's work thus embodies not only an aesthetic poetics, but a genuine ethical mobilization. The presence of the giraffe in front of the Triennale symbolizes a new way of creating culture, capable of connecting individual stories, global sensitivities, and global urgency. The choice of species, the manipulation of humble materials, and the vulnerability of the statues reflect the precarious state of the global ecosystem, suggesting that environmental protection can no longer be a deferrable choice, but an absolute necessity.

Rothschild's giraffe thus continues the initiatives that make the Milan Triennale a privileged place for dialogue between generations, disciplines, and cultures. In the Triennale Garden, at the end of the exhibition, three of the four animal sculptures from the series will be reunited, except for the blue whale, whose absence is not accidental but tragically symbolic: the whale's destruction dramatically amplifies the fragility of species and the irreparable loss of biodiversity, demonstrating the urgency of protecting the little that remains.

Reactions from the public and critics alike have consistently considered the project a turning point in contemporary museum narratives. The work becomes the starting point for workshops, guided tours, and seminars that explore the plight of endangered species and the value of sustainability. The giraffe, with its neck bent as if in pain, suggests a new perspective on empathy and calls for the construction of a critical thinking aimed at collective survival.

This initiative positions the city of Milan and the Triennale at the forefront of promoting cultural events that focus on the fragility of the future, sustainability, and the relationship between art and science. The installation is striking: its precarious materiality and imposing sculptural presence make its message vibrant and difficult to ignore. Rothschild's giraffe, like the other figures in the series, is designed to "last a short time," to demonstrate that nothing is eternal except shared responsibility.

The Triennale thus becomes a space for awareness and questioning: welcoming Rothschild's giraffe means embracing the project of a culture capable of interpreting the urgent needs of the present, committing to solidarity between species, and rethinking our relationship with the natural world, with the dignity that only art can evoke.