As per tradition, the Permanent Delegation of Italy to UNESCO celebrated Italian National Day at the headquarters of the organisation. The guest of honour was the Marche Region, represented by Dr. Marina Santucci, Director of the Regional Agency for Tourism and Internationalisation. The guests were entertained by the notes of violinist Marco Santini, a musician and composer from the Marche region, who performed Mameli’s Hymn and some of his original works, as well as a selected repertoire of traditional Italian music. The Marche region has a special relationship with UNESCO’s numerous activities and programmes: in addition to the World Heritage site of the historic centre of Urbino, the region has submitted a pending nomination of its system of 18th and 19th century theatres “a condominio”.
The hall that hosted the reception also hosted the exhibition “GUSTO! Italians at the Table. 1970-2050”, curated by M9 – Museo del ‘900, and distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to its offices abroad. Through a journey between science, pop culture and critical analysis, the exhibition explores the evolution of the relationship between tradition and change, between Italians and food, by photographing their customs while at the dining table.
The reception was also attended by a delegation from the Alta Murgia National Park, led by its President, Francesco Tarantini. The delegation was at Unesco for the concomitant ceremony to award the certificate of inscription of the MurGEopark in the UNESCO global Geoparks network.
In his speech, Ambassador Stellino, Permanent Representative of Italy to UNESCO, recalled the importance and depth of the ties between Italy and UNESCO and mentioned the second edition of the Conference on Cultural Heritage in the 21st Century, currently underway in Naples.
Among the UNESCO leaders present were DDG Xing Qu, delegate of DG Azoulay who was absent from Paris, together with the ADGs for Science, Lidia Brito, Education, Stefania Giannini, Communication and Information, Tawfik Jelassi, and Administration, Jennifer Linkins.
