Artist Christo’s floating walkway on Lake Iseo, Italy closed Sunday after garnering 1.2 million visitors, twice the expected amount.
The walkway, Floating Piers, is Christo Javacheff’s 23rd and most recent project. Comprised of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes, the 1.9-mile (3km) runway is covered in 100,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric.
The fabric can turn into shades of red and gold depending on the time of the day and the weather, according to the New York Times.
Moreover, the physical components of the cubes allow the piers to undulate with the movement of the waves, creating a sense of walking on water for visitors.
“Those who experienced the Floating Piers felt like they were walking on water – or perhaps the back of a whale,” Christo said, according to the project’s website.
Furthermore, the free installation “belonged to everyone.”
“There were no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners,” Christo said. “The Floating Piers are an extension of the street and belong to everyone.”
However, it was only available for 16 days before the Floating Piers were removed. Moreover, PBS reported that Christo spent $19.5 million on the art installation. The money is from the sale of his art.
#goodnight #goodbye #thefloatingpiers pic.twitter.com/jRb0ARwRJ0
— The Floating Piers (@floating_piers) July 3, 2016
The 16 meters wide piers, which connected two small islands in the lake to each other and to the mainland, attracted 250,000 visitors in its first five days.
According to The Guardian, the high number of visitors far exceeded the organizers’ expectations of 500,000 visits over 16 days.
Due to the heavy crowds, local officials needed to set up blockades to limit access and stop public transportations headed to that destination, reported The Denver Post. In addition to that, some visitors experienced dehydration and other medical emergencies.
As a consequence of the tens of thousands of visitors, the fabric got worn out. Thus, one of the piers closed between midnight and 6 am, instead of opening 24 hours a day as originally planned.
Nevertheless, the Floating Piers is a dream come true for Christo. The artist and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, envisioned the project 46 years ago, according to the New York Times. However, plans fell through for an installation in the Río de la Plata basin in South America. Later on, it happened again in 1995, when the couple wanted to make it happen in Tokyo Bay.
“We chose this lake because of its marvelous location,” Christo told CNN. “The islands reach hundreds of meters above the sea and only 2,000 people live there.”
