Italy celebrates its World Expo Day with national pride and international dialogue.

Italy celebrated its National Day today at Expo 2025 in Osaka, transforming its pavilion and the large Expo Hall “Shining Hat” into a showcase of culture, music, and diplomacy. The day opened with a captivating parade by the flag-wavers of the City of the Quarry. The official ceremony was introduced by the national anthems of Italy and Japan, and by institutional remarks from the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, and the Japanese Undersecretary of State for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Culture, Ken AkamatsuThe Expo Hall then served as the stage for the choreography of the Ballet School of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, which brought Rossini Cards to the stage Mauro Bigonzetti and The Road of Mario Pistoni to music by Nino Rota. Among the dignitaries who attended the event were Princess Tomohito of Mikasa, representing the Japanese imperial family; Senator Pier Ferdinando Casini; the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Richard Guariglia; the Italian ambassador to Japan, Gianluigi Benedetti; and the General Commissioner for Italy and Expo Osaka, Mario Vattani.

In the afternoon, an extraordinary “dialogue” between two famous Futurist artists took place at the Italian Pavilion: the work “Lines of Force of Boccioni’s Fist” by the painter, sculptor, and set designer Giacomo Balla (1882-1916), created in 1871 and dedicated by the latter to Boccioni, his friend and Futurist student, was exhibited alongside the famous sculpture “Unique Forms of the Continuity of Space” by Umberto Boccioni (1958-1915). In the evening, the curtain rose again on the “Shining Hat” for an extraordinary concert by the Rome Opera Orchestra conducted by Francesco Ivan Ciampa, with the voices of Anastasia Bartoli, Luciano Ganci e Luca Micheletti, in a tribute to the Italian work recognized as a World Heritage Site. The presence of Minister Giuli, visiting the Asian country since September 10th as an official guest of the Japanese government, also underscored the diplomatic dimension of the day: a significant step forward in the run-up to 2026, when Italy and Japan will celebrate 160 years of diplomatic relations.

“It is a great honor and privilege for me to be here today in this magnificent city and represent the Italian government on the day dedicated to our nation by Expo 2025,” said Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli, who called Expo Osaka “a great success” and congratulated the Japanese government, the Japan Expo Association, and all the institutions involved for “overcoming the organizational challenge.” “You have successfully transformed the artificial island of Yumeshima into a global platform for encounter and collaboration offered to the world,” Giuli said. “In a time marked by wars, crises, and geopolitical tensions, Expo 2025 presents itself as an oasis of cooperation, a place where nations meet and find space for mutual understanding, to plan a shared future.” A future, the minister added, “that we hope will be better for humanity and the planet, which we have a duty to safeguard together for the good of the younger generations.” In this regard, Giuli recognized the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organization that manages the Universal Expositions, for having transformed these major events “from showcases of industrial innovation to global forums for discussion on humanity’s great challenges.”

Italy, Giuli continued, enthusiastically accepted the Expo organizers’ invitation to present its vision of the future, and with it “concrete solutions for creating a sustainable society that improves people’s quality of life.” Our country presented this vision with a national pavilion centered around two symbols: “At its center is the Farnese Atlas, a masterpiece of ancient art exhibited for the first time in Asia, a metaphor for a humanity that bears the planet’s destiny on its shoulders, striving to guide its development according to the principles of freedom and moral commitment that our democracies recognize.” The second symbol, Giuli explained, “is the theme of the ideal city, the aspiration to excellence in urban planning and construction.” A concept celebrated in a famous Renaissance painting, which inspired the design of the Italian Pavilion, “and which encourages us to value quality and craftsmanship in combination with new technologies. This is the idea of progress that Italy and Expo bring, born from the harmony between tradition and innovation, and striving for the beauty of forms without neglecting community life.” The Italian Pavilion successfully united past, present, and future, integrating art, culture, technology, style, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. “As Minister of Culture, I am proud that Italy presented the Expo audience with extraordinary original works of art from every era. This fact, in the age of artificial intelligence and the virtual pluriverse, testifies to the very special significance that the Italian government attaches to the Universal Exposition hosted by Japan.”

From Leonardo to Michelangelo to Boccioni, from Mimmo Paladino to Jago, to name just a few of the great names featured at Expo with their works, “we were honored to have the opportunity to bring to Expo so many Italian artists who have represented and continue to represent the richness of our cultural production.” Culture, the minister said, “is civilization, it is memory and planning. Culture is not ornamentation, but a generative force, a dynamic identity that shapes science, knowledge, and coexistence. This immense tangible and intangible cultural heritage speaks to young people, personifying human genius and creativity, generators of beauty and know-how that no artificial intelligence application can surpass.” The Italian Pavilion thus celebrates “homo faber and the pride of creative professions in fashion, design, furniture, and cuisine, but also in high-quality manufacturing—all sectors in which Italian companies are synonymous with aesthetic and productive leadership.”

The Osaka Universal Exposition, thanks to the extraordinary narrative conveyed by the Italian Pavilion, is also a unique showcase for promoting Italy in Japan and Asia, said Giuli. “We wanted to seize this opportunity to the best of our ability with excellent teamwork between the government, public institutions, businesses, and civil society.” Guidi thanked Ambassador Mario Vattani, Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka, and Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “for promoting and coordinating such a high-profile Italian presence at the Universal Exposition.” Italy, in its spirit of friendship with Japan, “wished to honor the commitment made in February 2024 by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to fraternally support Japan in this endeavor.” Giuli quoted former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, assassinated in 2022, who said of bilateral relations: “Italy and Japan share the idea that beauty and creativity are the basis of a prosperous society.”

Guidi recalled the deep roots of the relationship between Italy and Japan, which date back to the late sixteenth century, with the mission led to Italy by Ito Mancio, whose portrait adorns the Italian Pavilion. The two countries are the custodians “of two great civilizations that, though so distant in space, have found and will continue to find reasons for profound understanding over time,” and of a friendship nourished “by a shared vision of society and international relations. Our task today,” the minister added, “is to strengthen the historic bond of friendship between Italy and Japan, in keeping with the Strategic Partnership inaugurated by the prime ministers in 2023, which has brought about a significant leap in the quality of bilateral relations over the past two years. I am convinced,” the minister concluded, “that Italy’s participation in Expo will be a profound catalyst for cultural, scientific, and technological exchanges between the two nations, which I hope will be increasingly intense and prosperous.”

Today’s “National Day” marked the culmination of the Italian Week at Expo Osaka: for an entire week, starting Sunday, September 7, the Italian Pavilion will host institutional events, artistic performances, and cultural initiatives dedicated to our country. The week’s inauguration saw over 100 tricolor ribbons unite the Italian Pavilion to the Grand Ring, the Expo’s symbolic work created by Sou Fujimoto, accompanied by 70 dancers from the Awa Odori Association & Awa Odori Promotion Association of Tokushima Prefecture. Present at the inauguration were Ambassador Mario Vattani, Commissioner General for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka; Dimitri Kerkentzes, Secretary General of the Bie; Koji Haneda, General Commissioner of Expo 2025 Osaka, and Hiroyuki Ishige, Secretary General of the Japan Association for Expo 2025 Osaka; and also the Consul General of Italy in Osaka, Philip Manara, the president of the Ice Agency, Matthew Zoppas, and several mayors and administrators who came from Italy, including the mayor of Rome Roberto GualtieriAmong the cultural events that preceded the National Day, the concert of the Philharmonic of the Teatro Comunale of Modena, under the direction of the maestro Hirofumi Yoshida September 10th; yesterday and today, however, the Rome Opera House Orchestra was the protagonist.