Italy has inaugurated the worksite
for its national Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025 with the 'Kuwaire'
ceremony for the laying of the first stone.
The Commissioner General for Italy, diplomat Mario Vattani, took
part in the traditional ceremony along with Osaka Prefecture
Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, Expo Osaka Secretary General
Hiroyuki Ishige, Italy's Consul-General Marco Prencipe and other
local and national representatives.
Work officially starts as of today on the construction of the
Italy Pavilion on the artificial island of Yumeshima, in Osaka
Bay, the venue for the next Expo, which will attract around 30
million visitors from Japan, Asia and the world between April
and October 2025.
Italy is the first nation among the 160 participants countries
to have begun construction, and is the only one that will do so
before the end of 2023.
"It's a first, important goal that we have managed to achieve
thanks to our close cooperation with Japanese construction
companies Nishio and Nomura, and with the Expo 2025 organizers,"
Mario Vattani, who only took on the role of Commissioner General
for Italy at Expo Osaka 2025 in August, after serving as Italian
Ambassador to Singapore, said at the end of the ceremony.
"It is also a positive signal for the Japanese public, as it
confirms that preparations for Expo Osaka are proceeding.
"The common aim is to organize a successful Universal
Exposition.
"Today we can count on a close relationship with Japan, which
has been raised to the level of strategic partnership since
January this year, with the meeting of our Premier Giorgia
Meloni with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida".
Even though the complex international situation has made the
supply of raw materials more difficult and caused prices to
increase by around 20% on average, Italy is keeping to the
schedule set out in the initial planning phase, and is also
managing to contain costs.
"Starting first May give us a logistical advantage," continued
Vattani.
"Today the artificial island is connected to the mainland by
just one bridge, so it is likely that, when other worksites
open, bottlenecks will form.
"Many of the participating countries are looking for available
construction companies. We chose to go for a design-&-build
tender process, which guaranteed us the collaboration of
Japanese constructors right from the design phase.
"Certainly, there are chances for possible obstacles, but for
the moment our choice has worked out well," he said.
"It is a strategy of efficiency and sustainability that we will
also adopt for the promotion of Italy at Expo.
"The aim is to update Italy's image, to show our high
technology, innovation and research in markets that are
extremely important for us today.
"The Italy Pavilion will be an exceptional instrument for
"diplomacy of growth", a great driving force for the
internationalization of our businesses," Vattani said.
The ceremony took place according to the Shinto ritual of
Kuwaire: the land where the new structure will be built is
'hoed' with traditional tools by the dignitaries present and
construction-company representatives.
"Italy is a much loved country in Japan and we are really happy
that it is the first nation to inaugurate its pavilion
construction site at Expo 2025 Osaka," commented Osaka
Prefecture Governor Yoshimura.
"This is an important milestone because it becomes one of the
turning points of Expo 2025 Osaka".
Expo Osaka Secretary General Hiroyuki Ishige said that: "the
opening of this construction site is a very important signal for
Expo 2025 Osaka because, with this inauguration, Italy opens the
way to the work of other pavilions".
The most important local and national Japanese TV networks and
news organs were present at the event, a demonstration of the
Japanese public's great level of interest in Italy and in the
Made in Italy brand.
The Italy Pavilion was designed by Architect Mario Cucinella and
the project reinterprets the Ideal City of the Renaissance, with
the piazza and theatre places that symbolize socializing and
meeting.
An Italian garden will be on the roof of the Pavilion, like a
terrace that looks out onto the open sea, and it will be visible
from a 12-metre-high promenade - the Ring.
The theme of the Italy Pavilion is "Art Regenerates Life" which
is an interpretation of the general Expo 2025 Osaka theme:
"Designing Future Society for Our Lives".
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