Celebrations for the 78th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Italy took place in Shanghai, in the presence of Ambassador Massimo Ambrosetti, General Consul Tiziana D’Angelo and the authorities of Shanghai.
In the setting of the Waitanyuan Villa on the Bund, a concert from the play “The Barber of Seville” performed by the orchestra and the singers of the renowned Rossini Opera Festival opened the celebrations and conquered the Italian, foreign and Chinese guests with its majestic interpretation. The meeting between Ambassador Ambrosetti and Shanghai’s vice-mayor Zhang Xiaohong created an opportunity for exchange between Italy and China and consisted in a fruitful exchange of cultural cooperation between Italy and Shanghai especially regarding the celebrations in Polo’s year.
This year, the celebrations for the Italian National Day of the Republic have also been an occasion to honour the 700th anniversary of the passing of the great Venetian merchant, diplomat and narrator Marco Polo. A few illustrations on the life and journey of the Venetian merchant, produced by the publishing company Kleiner Flug and part of the exhibition open in Shanghai “A comics’ world: the wonders of Marco Polo”, were exhibited in dedicated spaces at Waitanyuan villa.
Therefore, the abovementioned celebrations have honoured the city of Venice and acknowledged the National Committee for the Celebrations of the seven hundredth anniversary of the passing of Marco Polo (1324), which is presided over by Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro and scientifically directed by the dean of Ca’ Foscari University Tiziana Lippiello, who is working, according to the mandate of the Italian Ministry of Culture, to spread and represent not only the character of the Venetian Marco Polo but also his precious teachings above all: positive relationships are created through reciprocal knowledge, respect and will grow in peace.
The Consulate General of Italy in Shanghai, part of Italy’s MFA (MAECI) diplomatic network abroad, provides services and protection to Italian nationals residing in the Shanghai Municipality, in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces of China. It also coordinates a network of agencies and foreign offices to pursue cultural, academic, economic and commercial cooperation with the local authorities and Chinese citizens, including the Italian Cultural Institute in Shanghai, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), SACE and the Italian Tourism Bureau (ENIT).
