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Italian architect of Barcelona’s Olympic stadium Vittorio Gregotti dies of coronavirus at 92
A report news agency AFP cited AFI news agency and the Corriere della Sera newspaper which said that Gregotti was hospitalised in Milan after contracting COVID-19, and eventually died of pneumonia.
The renowned Italian architect who designed the 1992 Barcelona summer Olympics stadium, Vittorio Gregotti, passed away Sunday at the age of 92 due to coronavirus, Italian media reported. A report news agency AFP cited AFI news agency and the Corriere della Sera newspaper which said that Gregotti was hospitalised in Milan after contracting COVID-19, and eventually died of pneumonia. Paying his respects, fellow Italian architect Stefano Boeri described Gregotti a “master of international architecture” who “created the story of our culture” in a Facebook post. “What a great sadness,” he added.
Meanwhile, the reports also said that Gregotti’s wife Mariana Mazza is also hospitalised at the moment, but the details of the same were not revealed to the media and the public.
Gregotti had also designed the Arcimboldi Opera Theatre in Milan, a futuristic structure built to allow the opera season to continue while the La Scala underwent renovation in 2002-2004.
Meanwhile, Italian authorities voiced growing concern on Sunday over how much longer the strained health systems in northern regions worst hit by the coronavirus could cope with the relentless rise in new cases. While the virus has begun spreading rapidly across Europe, Italy remains the second most heavily affected country after China, where the virus first emerged.
With more than 21,000 cases and 1,441 deaths by Saturday, its experience has offered an alarming example for other European countries which have begun seeing sharp rises in cases over recent days.
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters)
