World-famous architect Renzo Piano and his son Carlo set sail from Genoa one late Summer day, guided by the ancestral desire felt by many explorers before them: to find Atlantis (in Italian, Atlantide). Atlantis is the perfect city, built to harbour a perfect society. This is its true beauty, precious and elusive. Renzo Piano, a man who can not only measure land at a glance but also the sea’s infinite geometry, returns to the places where he has erected his works, mosaic pieces in the infinite, necessary quest for perfection. With his son he sails across the Pacific, along the banks of the Thames and the Seine, reaching as far as Athens, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and Osaka Bay. In search of beauty, he finds the imperfections that every building project carries within it. And so, all that remains is to sail on.

Praise

“Complex, tender, moving.”—La Repubblica

“Engaging and endlessly original.”—Bon Culture

Carlo Piano
Carlo Piano, the son, journalist. Curious explorer of cities and their customs. Author of books on urban hinterlands. He loves the sea.

Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano, the father, architect. Has built cities all over the world. In this book he tells of an adventurous profession. He loves the sea and shared his passion with his son.

• Oct 10 2020
  Renzo Piano: "When you are sailing with your son, you start to confess things"
  — The Telegraph
• Aug 26 2020
  “An intimate and insightful chronicle of exploration and revelation.”
  — Kirkus Review