I met with Antonio Lieto, assisted by interpreter Alesio Nurka and with technical assistance from Michael Lutz (of Rozzi).
Antonio is the third generation of the Lieto family working in the family business, established around the time of WW2 by his grandfather, Cavaliere in Visciano, just outside of Naples. Assisted by his son Ugo (Antonio’s father), the family business grew, but suffered a tragic accident in 2002, killing one of the four brothers. Following this, Ugo rebuilt the factory with a profound focus on safety and technology and re-established the business in 2006. Now it is one of the most modern production facilities in Italy.
The company not only fabricates fireworks but also puts on large displays, the largest of which is fired in Naples over a length of coastline of approximately 3km and with a 45 minute duration. The company has also won competitions in Malta, Vienna, Madeira, Moscow and Vienna.
When asked about how it felt to be competing in Montreal, Antonio said he felt like a child having a dream come true as it has been his ambition to compete here for as long as he can remember. He said the news of the invitation brought him great joy, but also some trepidation as Montreal is the most prestigious competition. Even though the display in Naples is technically larger, the Montreal project, for him, is a much more complicated project.
The first step, for the company, was to specially manufacture the best quality fireworks possible for the display and then, secondly, work on the soundtrack. Antonio chose and mixed all of the soundtrack and it represents his love and pride of everything Italian. Almost all the fireworks in the display will be Italian, with the vast majority manufactured by Lieto, but also Roman candles from Panzera SRL and a very small number of cakes manufactured in China. Antonio noted his company has some specialties that will be included such as the so-called “ghost shells”.
On the technical side, the display will feature the use of all the firing ramps, including three pontoons forming ramp 5, but no special structures. There will be some special surprise effects included too. In terms of large calibre shells, there will be six 300mm (12″) shells and over forty 8″ (200mm) – but also many many cylindrical shells including, of course, studatas. The display features approximately 7,000 products and will be fired with the same number of cues (and, evidently, features a lot of one-shots). The team will be using FireOne to shoot the display. When asked about the soundtrack, Antonio said he’s particularly looking forward to seeing the Formula One theme brought to life, as well as Nessun Dorma (the finale) plus Tu Vuò Fà L’Americano and ‘O Sole Mio.
The weather for the interview was terrible, hence the indoor-only photos, however, the rest of the setup time is forecast to be warm and sunny. Fingers crossed for perfect conditions on Wednesday evening!