ROME, Dec. 21, 2023 /ANSA=KYODO JBN

- Being first to lay first stone is important achievement -Vattani

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".

Source: General Commissioner’s Office of Italy for Expo 2025 Osaka