The world’s most famous ice hotel
One of the most photographed hotels in the world has just turned 30: this is the Icehotel, located in Jukkasjärvi, in the far north of Sweden. Sculptor Maurizio Perron tells us about his role as the only Italian who has been collaborating for 12 years in the famous ice hotel’s construction. Every year, the seasonal suites are built in December, and they melt away like snow in the sun come April. Until the following season, when they are rebuilt from the ground up, always different.
These are real works of art, unique and ephemeral, created by artists and sculptors from all over the world. Take, for instance, the Art Suite designed this year by Perron in collaboration with Dutch stylist Marjolein Vonk, and sculpted from two-ton blocks of ice taken from the nearby Thorne River.
“The thermometer can reach -45°C. But Arctic temperatures don’t scare us when we have the right equipment to protect ourselves from the cold: Rewoolution merino wool clothing, Siberian combat boots and natural down,” the Valsusan artist tells us.
“The discomforts, including the darkness that eats the days away, are more than made up for by the beauty. In the few daylight hours, the sun is never high above you and the sky is constantly pink and orange, an endless sunrise and sunset.”