By Kavita Mistry 
A trip around the globe may be an expensive dream, but at the newly-launched Mini World at Vishwanadh Sports Club, Port Stadium, visitors can step into the heart of Italy, experience the grandeur of ancient Rome, or marvel at the fantasy of Singapore’s Far Far Away Castle, by simply taking a walk.
Spread across a separate section of the Port Stadium, Mini World is a permanent display of 12 human-scale models of world-famous monuments. The experience features iconic structures such as the Florence Cathedral (Duomo), the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Rome’s Colosseum, London’s Tower Bridge, and the whimsical Far Far Away Castle from Universal Studios Singapore. Each model is built to near-accurate proportions, providing visitors with an opportunity to engage closely with global architectural marvels.
An exhibit of Leaning Tower of pisa at Mini World at Vishwanadh Sports Club in Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Crafted from fibre, the project took nine months to complete, with a dedicated team of 55 skilled artists from Kolkata who created the structures. The entire installation came at a cost of ₹1.8 crore, with each structure priced at around ₹8 lakh. The priced jewel, however, is the Florence Cathedral, one of the greatest masterpieces of Gothic art and the first Italian Renaissance. “This intricate piece alone cost approximately ₹15 lakh due to its elaborate design and detailing,” says Narendra Kumar of Vishwanadh Sports Club.
Children going around the exhibits of Mini World at Viswanadh Sports Club at Port Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
Presently, the finishing touches are being fine-tuned by a team of architecture students from GITAM University. “We have worked on it for two weeks, tried different textures and mixtures of colour combinations to bring out the intricate ornamentation details of Florence Cathedral,” says AR Jyothi Marri, assistant professor at GITAM University. “It was challenging to get matching colours and surface finishing. We ran multiple tests and used different layering techniques. Photographic references helped us understand the facade, dome and the symmetrical patterns that make the Duomo so iconic.”
The exhibits of Mini World at Viswanadh Sports Club at Port Stadium in Visakhapatnam..
| Photo Credit:
KR Deepak
Each structure at Mini World is brightly illuminated in the evenings. Accompanying each monument is an information board that offers historical context and interesting trivia. A new package deal is also in the works, one that includes personalised photo prints for families of four, to capture memories amid these global replicas.
The Mini World is open from 10am to 9pm, with an entry fee of ₹199 per person.
Published – May 15, 2025 05:05 pm IST