# Padiglione



## lostinmilan

Ciao a tutti. Che cosa vuole dire 'Padiglione' nell'espressione:

Francesco Garofalo sarà il curatore del *Padiglione* Italiano
ProfessioneArchitetto - 7 apr 2008
Sarà Francesco Garofalo il curatore del *Padiglione* Italiano all'11. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura che si svolgerà dal 14 settembre al 23 novembre *...*
Grazie.


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## anglomania1

I went to vinitaly in Verona at the weekend and they used Pavilion for padiglione, bye, A


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## tsoapm

At exhibitions, I see that it’s generally translated Hall.


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## Lorena1970

lostinmilan said:


> Ciao a tutti. Che cosa vuole dire 'Padiglione' nell'espressione:
> 
> Francesco Garofalo sarà il curatore del *Padiglione* Italiano
> ProfessioneArchitetto - 7 apr 2008
> Sarà Francesco Garofalo il curatore del *Padiglione* Italiano all'11. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura che si svolgerà dal 14 settembre al 23 novembre *...*
> Grazie.


In this case no doubt you must use "pavilion". Pavilions in the Biennale area are small buildings that were built during the years by each country invited/admitted to take part to Venice Biennale. They are the locations where each national exhibition takes place. The Italian Pavilion is now located at the end of the Arsenale, given that The Italia pavilion ( previously "Italian Pavilion") has become the location of the main international exhibition curated by the Biennale Director.

EDIT: Ouch! It was a 2008 question.....


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## tsoapm

Yes, I wondered whether Pavilion might have been more appropriate in the specific case, but I thought it was worth mentioning, since in my experience it’s been Hall overwhelmingly.


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## Lorena1970

tsoapm said:


> Yes, I wondered whether Pavilion might have been more appropriate in the specific case, but I thought it was worth mentioning, since in my experience it’s been Hall overwhelmingly.


Hall is used in museums, like "MOMA conceptual painting hall" et al. In fairs or specifically at the BIennale in Venezia you must use "pavilion" because they are small buildings, which earlier were temporary or anyway anonymous, and only during time some of the most famous architects were appointed to design a permanent small space like a small architecture. Hence they are "isolated" pavilions spread around the Giardini.


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## tsoapm

That’s funny. Even when I have, for example, Italian source text with _padiglioni_ referring to a German trade fair, when I look at the site of the fair it’s pretty much always been a ‘hall’ in English (which you can be certain of because the blurb always refers to where their stand is located and the trade fair sites usually have list of exhibitors with their position).


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## Lorena1970

You know about Serpentine Gallery in London? Same concept as Biennale, though the difference is that in Venice they became permanent and in London they are temporary... Also in the EXPO they are pavilions. It depends, I think, from them being just "rooms" part of a large space containing many smaller spaces, or singular small/medium or even large temporary buildings expressly designed for an event.
For instance in Milano Design Fair  there are some spaces that are not only a squared room but they are shaped and designed expressly to stand out. Those are generally called pavilions.


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## pebblespebbles

I confirm the correct translation of "padiglioni" is "pavilions". Lorena1970 explained everything very well


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## tsoapm

The _Salone del Mobile_ has a drop-down with the heading of ‘Pavilion’ and the options are all ‘Hall’: clearly hedging their bets!


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## curiosone

I tried looking up the definition of both _pavilion_ and _hall._ 

The applicable definition of _pavilion_ in Collins is: "a building or temporary structure, esp one that is open and ornamental, for housing exhibitions"

The most applicable definition of _hall_ that I was able to find referred to "meeting place": "a large room or building for public gatherings; auditorium:" [example: a convention hall - which in fact is used for temporary expositions and fairs]

So I think Lorena and tsoapm both have a point.  

However (living for several years in Bologna) I learned the word 'padiglione' in connection to a famous portico (alongside Piazza Maggiore) which was historically a sort of meeting place (THE place to be seen for a 'passeggiata').  And the Bolognese Padiglione is NOT a temporary structure, nor one used for exhibitions.


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## Odysseus54

I've always heard 'Hall' - and I can't say I am totally new to trade shows, conventions, exhibitions etc.


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## pebblespebbles

Before the opening to the English language, exhibitions had only "padiglioni'. For art, forniture fair etc..


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## lentulax

'As usual, the *16th International Architecture Exhibition *will also present the *National Participations* with their own exhibitions in the Pavilions at the Giardini and at the Arsenale, and in the historic city centre of Venice.' From the English language version of www.labiennale.org.


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## london calling

lentulax said:


> 'As usual, the *16th International Architecture Exhibition *will also present the *National Participations* with their own exhibitions in the Pavilions at the Giardini and at the Arsenale, and in the historic city centre of Venice.' From the English language version of www.labiennale.org.


Yes, but that's a very obvious translation, so I'd take it with a pinch of salt. I would have said 'hall'.


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## pebblespebbles

No, sorry. Alla Biennale d'arte di Venezia we only have pavilions= padiglioni. Definitely, with not a shadows of a doubt.


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## Odysseus54

pebblespebbles said:


> Before the opening to the English language, exhibitions had only "padiglioni'. For art, forniture fair etc..



I don't quite understand.  Nobody is questioning that in Italian we have 'padiglioni'.  The question is : what term do English-speaking people use to indicate what Italians call 'padiglioni' ?


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## london calling

pebblespebbles said:


> No, sorry. Alla Biennale di Venezia we only have pavilions= padiglioni. Definitely, with not a shadows of a doubt.


At the Biennale you have 'padiglioni', no doubt whatsoever,  but what seems to have escaped you is that 'padiglioni' does not necessarily translate to 'pavilions' in English. Try re-reading the thread.


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## johngiovanni

Just to throw a bit of a spanner in the works:  a pavilion to me suggests a building positioned separately, not necessarily "tented", but possibly so.
"Hall" just doesn't do it for me.  "Hall" - basically a large room in an exhibition building.  _Boring_.  "Pavilion" is more separate, possibly more exotic.
I would translate "padiglioni" as "pavilions".
"Pavilions" strut their stuff.  "Halls" don't do that.
I go to the derivation: "c. 1200, "large, stately tent," from Old French paveillon "large tent; butterfly" (12c.), from Latin papilionem (nominative papilio) "butterfly, moth," in Medieval Latin "tent" (see papillon); the type of tent so called on resemblance to wings. Meaning "open building in a park, etc., used for shelter or entertainment" is attested from 1680s."


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## pebblespebbles

I answered the OP, and about Biennale d'arte!  Of course there are other meanings in Italian too,  of the word padiglione. But I didn't talk about those!
The word "pavilion" is clearly from French, and with that and Italian, shares nearly all the meanings...
Look, my knowledge of pavilions like structures,  comes from studying the international exhibitions of the past : Cristal Palace in London, the one in Paris for which they built the Eiffel Tour,etc..here is a link to a wiki page. The only pictures I can see about exhibition spaces,  are called "pavilions", in few different countries.  I can't find any description about the famous London one's.. If you find out how they were called there : pavilions or halls? Let me know.

And one of my post was to answer this:


Odysseus54 said:


> I've always heard 'Hall' - and I can't say I am totally new to trade shows, conventions, exhibitions etc.


Which I understood being about "hall" used in Italian language! Was it not?

I forgot the link in my previous post, and I can't edit and past, so here is the link I was talking about:World's fair - Wikipedia
I want to add something I thought about it now (probably after reading johngiovanni's post!) : a pavilion is a free standing structure (temporary or not, bricks or tent), a kind of building so, or a part of it. A hall is a space, a kind of room (sala, salone in Italian). That is to say that there could be a hall into a pavilion, but not the opposite. Or, am I wrong?


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## london calling

What I have been trying to say  is that 'padiglione' can translated as 'exhibition hall' as well and that pavilion is therefore not always the correct translation. It depends on the context.

Getting back to Pebbles' question about international exhibitions in the UK. I checked out a couple of the most famous ones.

The Great Expo of 1851.
The Crystal Palace was not a pavilion: it was a large steel and glass structure (which burnt down: my mother saw it burning when she was a very young child, from the top of Shooter's Hill in south east London). See this article, which refers to it as a hall, I quote:

_Sir Joseph Paxton was a 19th-century botanist who became instantly famous for the hall he designed for the Great Expo of 1851. After the expo, the Crystal Palace moved to a new location and became the centerpiece of the world's first theme park._







The 1951 Festival of Britain. 
There were displays and exhibitions all over the country but the heart of it all was in London, in Waterloo.  Twenty-nine South Bank Exhibition Buildings were built of which not all survived. The ones that did are  known today as the Southbank Centre which comprises Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery. The Royal Festival Hall is not however an exhibition hall (except I suppose for the odd display/small exhibition they have every now and again, like the one I saw last year when I went to one of their lunchtime jazz concerts). It's a musical venue. 

In any case they built both exhibition halls and pavilions.  See this photo of the area under construction and the description:

_October 1950: The construction of the Festival of Britain site on London's South Bank. Waterloo Station is on the left, with County Hall behind it, and the Houses of Parliament behind that. The festival buildings are (from left to right) the Dome of Discovery, the Transport Pavilion, the Royal Festival Hall and the Shot Tower. The image was taken from the Festival Church (St John's Church) on Waterloo Road._

However, at this stage, given the various opinions I think it is safe to say that  the Biennale has either 'exhibition halls' or 'pavilions'.


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## Odysseus54

johngiovanni said:


> Just to throw a bit of a spanner in the works:  a pavilion to me suggests a building positioned separately, not necessarily "tented", but possibly so.
> "Hall" just doesn't do it for me.  "Hall" - basically a large room in an exhibition building.  _Boring_.  "Pavilion" is more separate, possibly more exotic.
> I would translate "padiglioni" as "pavilions".
> "Pavilions" strut their stuff.  "Halls" don't do that.
> I go to the derivation: "c. 1200, "large, stately tent," from Old French paveillon "large tent; butterfly" (12c.), from Latin papilionem (nominative papilio) "butterfly, moth," in Medieval Latin "tent" (see papillon); the type of tent so called on resemblance to wings. Meaning "open building in a park, etc., used for shelter or entertainment" is attested from 1680s."



If you go to an exhibition in Italy, all enclosed separate spaces will probably be called 'padiglioni'.  See for instance Cersaie or Vinitaly.  You can find their catalogues on line.  They call what you call 'halls' (_basically a large room in an exhibition building_.) 'padiglioni'. Why?  Who knows.  But it's documented.

So, in Italian, 'padiglione' means both 'pavillion' and 'hall'.

In English, 'pavillion' means 'padiglione' but not 'hall', unless the exhibition catalogue has been translated by an Italian  translator who thinks otherwise


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## london calling

Odysseus54 said:


> So, in Italian, 'padiglione' means both 'pavillion' and 'hall'.
> 
> In English, 'pavillion' means 'padiglione' but not 'hall', unless the exhibition catalogue has been translated by an Italian  translator who thinks otherwise



Agreed. As I said above:


london calling said:


> What I have been trying to say  is that 'padiglione' can translated as 'exhibition hall' as well and that pavilion is therefore not always the correct translation. It depends on the context.



PS. Pav*ili*on (one L).


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## Odysseus54

london calling said:


> PS. Pav*ili*on (one L).



Yes - thanks.


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## lentulax

Is it the case that (in English) 'pavilions' is generally used when the areas denoted  are dedicated to displays representing the products or services of individual countries? A lot of international trade fairs (agricultural, maritime, engineering, plastics etc.) seem to use the term in this context ('pavilion' is the word used by the UK trade associations, whose material is written by BE speakers) ; and it seems to be the standard term in reviews/discussion of the Venice Architecture Biennale, e.g. passim in artsy's review of the 15th Biennale, headed 'The 10 Best National Pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale'.


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## pebblespebbles

Hello,
Got few busy days, and I couldn't  reply earlier.


london calling said:


> What I have been trying to say  is that 'padiglione' can translated as 'exhibition hall' as well and that pavilion is therefore not always the correct translation. It depends on the context.


London, I think you are right for the first part of the sentence, but not for the second one. You should find an example where "pavilion"  is not the right translation for "padiglione". But  I think they have exactly the same meanings in English and Italian (and in French too). And, after what I learnt from this thread, in some contexts, you can choose to translate "padiglione" with "hall", like in this link


tsoapm said:


> _Salone del Mobile_ has a drop-down with the heading of ‘Pavilion’ and the options are all ‘Hall’


In the English part: "pavilion" :hall1, hall2,.. and in the Italian part: "padiglioni" :hall1, Hall 2..(hall in Italian too!).

The main difference between "hall"  and "pavilion",  when they can be used as synonymous, it seems to me to be that the pavilion is a building, something to see from outside, and the hall is an inside space (even when it means a building, that building is a hall building because it has a big hall inside, like in "city hall", "Great Hall"... But I learnt that from this thread, so English speakers could say some different ).
The usual main translations of "hall"  in Italian are "sala/salone/ingresso". If I translate "Salone del Mobile" litterally, it is "Forniture (exhibition) Hall".
It could be that English speakers are more acquainted to the German / English derived word "hall", than to a French derived word such as "pavilion".

If I had to translate "exhibition hall" I would probably go with something like "sala/salone/edificio espositivo" etc.. . Not with padiglione! Because there is a specific English word for that!



london calling said:


> Biennale has either 'exhibition halls' or 'pavilions'.


Nobody said "exhibition halls"  don't exist! But if you read "Il padiglione della Gran Breatagna ai giardini della biennale", you can't translate it simply with "The GB exhibition hall",  because you miss a big piece of meaning and history.
Now some pictures are required. From i giardini della biennale di Venezia :
Padiglione Inghilterra:British Pavilion at 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale to explore the future of housing
Padiglione Ungheria:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Ungheria.jpg
Padiglione Paesi Scandinavi:trees | openhouse

Then you can have an "exhibition hall" into the pavilion. I think I remember the English Pavilion having 3 parts inside : entrance hall and other 2 rooms on the sides...
Another "exhibition hall" could be into the Arsenale di Venezia, which is the old building where they used to built ships, now used in many kind of exhibitions and in Biennale too:THE VENUES

Padiglioni for exhibitions can be permanent or temporary. But other kind of padiglioni are meant to last :


curiosone said:


> 'padiglione' in connection to a famous portico (alongside  historically a sort of meeting place (THE place to be seen for a 'passeggiata').





johngiovanni said:


> "open building in a park, etc., used for shelter or entertainment" is attested from 1680s."


[/QUOTE]

If you were a poor King, Queen , Emperor or Duke, etcc in the past, you could have a "pavilion"  into  your private park, to shelter from the sun and rain, have a refreshment and some music.. Like in Versailles Park in France , Schonbrunn Park in Vien etc.. Giardini Di Schonbrunn E Padiglione Di Gloriette A Vienna Fotografia Stock - Immagine di imperatore, empress: 42365976
Padiglione Francese Del Giardino Immagine Stock - Immagine di giardino, limite: 32844369



london calling said:


> The Crystal Palace was not a pavilion: it was a large steel and glass structure (which burnt down: my mother saw it burning when she was a very young child, from the top of Shooter's Hill in south east London). See this article, which refers to it as a hall, I quote:
> 
> _Sir Joseph Paxton was a 19th-century botanist who became instantly famous for the hall he designed for the Great Expo of 1851. After the expo, the Crystal Palace moved to a new location and became the centerpiece of the world's first theme park._
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .



Sorry, I didn't say the Crystal Palace was a pavilion (even if it was) : it was always know as his exotic name only, and Crystal Palace . It actually was a kind of very big glasshouse, and glasshouses are a kind of buildings you can call padiglione = pavilion. "il padiglione della serra" = "the glasshouse pavilion".  Like this one:Glasshouse pavilion at Bangalore Botanical Garde image | YayImages.com

Thank for the information about the Crystal Palace being moved to another part of London : I ' ve always thought it was just dismantled after the end of the International exhibition, and I' ve always  thought "what a loss"! .  I'm happy it was around for a little longer! And I thought the part of London called "Crystal Palace" was the original place of the 1851 exhibition, which is not, in fact!


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## london calling

I give up.... Translate the word as you wish. I will continue to use exhibition hall or pavilion on the basis of the context or on what the people that use/built/designed the thing call it (for example the Crystal Palace was called a 'hall' not 'a pavilion' and so I will continue referring to it as a hall...).


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## A User

Please, don't translate anyway. It is unusefull.
Che si tratti di odonimia/odonomastica o di toponomastica, le denominazioni dei luoghi non vanno cambiate.
Se abitassi in "via Garibaldi", e lo volessi comunicare ad un inglese, mica gli dico di abitare in "Garibaldi Road". Così come non dico ad un italiano  di abitare in "strada Garibaldi"(in fondo anche un sinonimo è in qualche modo una traduzione). Il "padiglione" è una denominazione, risalente al periodo fascista (come si dicesse prima non lo posso sapere), che indica un settore di un'area espositiva. Che  tipo di struttura abbia l'edificio, o come l'area sia attrezzata per accogliere i visitatori non ha nessuna importanza. L'importante è che abbia un nome, e quel nome deve trovare scritto chi ci va. L'organizzatore di un evento in quel luogo ha la prerogativa di ridenominare a piacimento o di tradurre in una o più lingue il nome di questi luoghi, ed ha solo un solo obbligo, quella di far ritrovare la nomenclatura usata sui luoghi indicati. È probabile che la struttura originaria rispettasse il concetto di padiglione e che successivamente le costruzioni abbiano seguito criteri diversi, ma si è preferito, secondo me a ragione, non disorientare il visitatore affezionato, che associava quel nome a quel punto esatto in quella zona precisa, in quel determinato periodo dell'anno.


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## london calling

A User said:


> Please, don't translate anyway. It is unusefull.


_Unusefull_ non è una parola inglese. 

Qui non si tratta di una 'denominazione dei luoghi' e quindi la parola 'padiglione' va tradotta in base al contesto ecc., come si è detto sopra. _The Crystal Palace_ è una denominazione e non va tradotta (e infatti nessuno ha provato a farlo).


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## rrose17

Just to add that here in Montreal, which is quite bilingual, the largest art museum is divided into pavilions often referred to as galleries or halls. The words seem have become interchangeable. In this context. At a trade show I agree that "hall" makes sense and not pavilion.


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