Vespucci in Tokyo, all set for opening of Italy Village

(ANSA) - TOKYO, 25 AGO - Everything is ready in Tokyo for the opening of the Italy Village, the 'World Multi-Annual Itinerant Exhibition of Italian Excellence,' following the arrival of the historic sailing ship and training ship of the Italian Navy, which arrived in Japan for the first time. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, who strongly supported the project, Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara, the Italian Ambassador to Japan Gianluigi Benedetti, Luca Andreoli, CEO of Difesa Servizi, the in-house company of the Ministry of Defence that implements and supports all phases of the initiative, and Captain Giuseppe Lai, Commander of the Amerigo Vespucci ship.
    "The Italy Village is very important to give a signal of the strength of our Country System," Italian Ambassador Gianluigi Benedetti told ANSA. "Something that complements the Vespucci, which already in itself brings so much culture, so much history and so much translation, and also so many Italian skills, from the construction of the ship to the ability to sail it through the most complicated passages. And the village brings precisely to the most important ports of this voyage the rest: the technology, the know-how of Italy and all the cultural tradition that is so significant in cementing and creating friendships, especially among the younger generations. Because it is on them that we must rely to maintain, in the case of Japan, but also with other countries, the friendship that traditionally distinguishes us'.