The inspiration for Bellagio (Las Vegas) is a picturesque town on Lake Como (Italy), which Steve Wynn and his wife Elaine happened upon while vacationing with their friends Paul and Anne Anka. Bellagio was, at the time it opened in 1998, the most expensive hotel ever built.
No expense was spared in the lavish project and Wynn, always keen to outdo his last endeavor, wanted something in the lobby to rival the spectacular salt-water aquarium showcased behind the check-in desk at the Mirage.
As long-time collectors of Dale Chihuly's art, the Wynns commissioned the world-renowned glassblower to create his single largest work to date, with Steve making numerous visits to Seattle to personally collaborate with the artist during construction.
The result was a 2,100-square-foot installation that incorporates 40 different colors and weighs in at a whopping 40,000 pounds. It took more than 100 artisans, including glassblowers, architects, engineers, shippers, installers, and fabricators nearly two years to complete the project, which contains more than 2,000 hand-blown elements.
The cost of the commission has never been disclosed, but with similar individual glass elements priced at approximately $30,000 apiece, the price tag had to be well over $5 million.
In the naming of his artwork, Chihuly borrowed from the theme behind Bellagio and named his creation "Fiori Di Como" ("Flowers of Como").
