🇨🇭 Igor Mitoraj in Lausanne, Switzerland

The Corazza (The Breastplate) by Igor Mitoraj is permanently installed in the gardens of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva. Swiss national broadcaster SWI swissinfo described it as "now part of the scenery" after a major Mitoraj exhibition there. The Olympic Museum’s parkland setting — with views across the lake to the Alps — makes it one of the most dramatic permanent Mitoraj locations in Europe. Also known as Porta Italica, the marble work is documented in a 3D scan by students of EPFL (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne).

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne opened in 1993 and is the permanent home of the International Olympic Committee's historical archive and collection. Its terraced gardens above Lake Geneva, facing the Alps, are among the most dramatically positioned museum grounds in Europe. Corazza — also known as Porta Italica — is a marble work whose title refers to both the breastplate of a warrior and, obliquely, to Italy, the country where Mitoraj spent the most creatively productive decades of his life. The IOC's choice of Mitoraj for a permanent commission reflects his standing in the European cultural landscape of the 1990s.

Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and numerous international sports federations — making it the de facto capital of world sport. The Olympic Museum's permanent collection spans over 200 years of Olympic history, from ancient Greece to the present. Mitoraj's Corazza speaks directly to this Olympic context: the breastplate was the armour of the classical athlete and warrior, and Mitoraj's fragmented, weathered version suggests the inevitable imperfection that underlies the ideal. The sculpture overlooks Lake Geneva with the Alps beyond — one of the most beautiful views in Switzerland.

Permanent Work