ADVENTURES AT THE MILAN EXPO AND SO MUCH MORE!
The weather was perfect and the timing could not have been better for a trip to visit the Milan Expo 2015 World’s Fair. In mid-September, I joined a group of mostly National Italian American Foundation members from New York and New Jersey and flew to Milan on Alitalia, staying first in Biella, a textile center near Milan that lies in the foothills of the Alps, and then in Como on the famous lake which at one point is a 5-minute drive from the Swiss border.
We visited the Milan Expo on 2 successive days and found that the crowds were big and the lines were long at some of the 140 pavilions, as we had heard. For example, at the pavilion considered the most popular – Kazakhistan - the lines were 4 hours long. The place was so huge that it would have taken a week to see everything. But I saw maybe 30 countries’ pavilions, and among my favorites, besides the USA, were the United Arab Emirates, China, Azerbaijan, Spain and Turkey.
The theme of the Expo, which began May 1 and ends October 31, was “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” and so far Expo has had more than 20 million visitors from all over the world. On our first day at the Expo there was a big delegation from Coldiretti, the association representing Italian agricultural interests, with over 100 Italian farmers in their yellow tee shirts and bandanas. At the Emirates pavilion, the building resembled tan sand dunes and there were amazing high-tech demonstrations about how to get water out of the desert. At the end of a very interesting short film, a young girl sings a rap song with a video playing in the background, and she had the audience singing along to the song about taking care of the planet, because “it’s my planet too!!” We also went to the Dubai exhibit next door since the next World’s Fair will be in Dubai in 2020.
The Chinese pavilion was stunning with its undulating floating roof design giving it a unique silhouette. Outside, the pavilion was surrounded by a field of golden marigold flowers. Inside, a huge multimedia installation formed from a matrix of LED stalks resembling billowing wheat fields. And the crowds were fascinated by a display of “magic woks” with glass tops that when lifted, caused the “food” in the bottom to change to another kind of “food.” At the Turkish pavilion, musicians played while an exhibit showed how Turkish coffee is made. Inspiration for the pavilion was taken from the pomegranate fruit, as seen by the perforated roof over the outdoor area.
The Azerbaijan pavilion made use of flexible wood, and featured 3 biospheres connected by escalators. Many countries’ exhibits featured their new technology and ideas for “feeding the planet” as well as foods they were famous for (such as rice in Vietnam or cocoa in the Ivory Coast) and at one point Zimbabwe was featuring crocodile burgers which unfortunately we did not get a chance to try.
The second day we were at the Expo, we had the opportunity to have a 2-hour private tour given by the head of the USA pavilion, Dorothy Cann Hamilton, thanks to her friend Joe Sciame, who was the leader of our group and who is head of the Council of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations. Ms. Hamilton explained to us the effort it took to put together not only the pavilion itself but also to raise the necessary private funding of $60 million, since the U.S. pavilion is the only one not funded by a government.
She noted that the pavilion was designed by the same people who designed the 9/11 museum in New York, and it was deiberately designed to be more open than other countries’ pavilions. Ms. Hamilton pointed out that the floors were made of plywood from Coney Island following Hurricane Sandy, and she noted that many people upon entering the exhibit liked to take selfies in front of the President Obama welcoming video. She noted that the USA exhibit is very popular, and said a record 50,000 visitors had come during one recent day.
Among the celebrities who came to the U.S. pavilion were Michele Obama, Martha Stewart, Nancy Pelosi, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to come shortly before the sixmonth term of the Expo ended on October 31. She told us that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Expo but did not come to the U.S. pavilion because for one thing, their visits were kept short since for security reasons the Expo had to be shut down while they were there. Ms. Hamilton showed us the display of vertical farming (the Israeli exhibit also had a vertical farming display but it was closed due to the Jewish holidays). She predicted that vertical farming—moving green panels with live plants—will be the next new thing in agriculture because of dwindling land availability as the population goes from 7 billion to 9 billion in the next 40 years (adding the equivalent of the population of India, Europe and North America).
We also saw the “smart glass” on the ceiling of the top floor, which Ms. Hamilton explained can instantly change to opaque, and has many other applications such as in defense—for example, after one bullet is fired into a car, before a sharpshooter can adjust his aim to shoot more accurately, the glass becomes opaque. We also saw a device made by GE that converts waste and manure into energy. Inside one of the floors, elaborate touch-screen educational games drew lots of kids, and the 7-part video on the lower level was very popular too. There was also a display about regional food in the U.S. which highlighted the various immigrant influences in each part of the country (such as the Italian influence in the Northeast and the Asian influence on the West Coast).
There were big crowds all over, but the Italian exhibits were packed and hard to get into. We did go to the area with the pizza napoletana, the official food of the Expo. The wait to get the famous pizza margherita was definitely worth it!! And one of the most memorable structures of the whole Expo, which was full of amazing examples of architecture, was the Palazzo Italia, which was really the heart of the Expo. It’s made of a special kind of flexible white concrete developed in Italy. The structure was designed to look like the branches of a tree in a forest and its innovative environmental technology has led it to be called a “smog-eating machine.” Inside the huge building, a group of opera singers performed while we browsed a very nice gift store. Nearby was the Tree of Life in the center of Lake Arena, and after dark we saw the beautiful sound and light show, which can be viewed on YouTube and which features lighting, special effects, fireworks and music.
We learned that the structure of the Tree of Life takes its cue from the Renaissance, and its creator based his design on designs by Michelangelo. Made of wood and steel, it has been described as a monument, a sculpture, a building, and a work of art. And the bottom of Lake Arena is filled with dark pebbles to create a mirror effect. All in all, being at the World’s Fair was an unforgettable experience. But the trip was so much more, it turns out. We went to Milan, the fashion capital of Italy, went to Sordevolo for the unforgettable Passion Play that only takes place every 5 years, went to the Casa Zegna museum and ended up meeting members of the elegant and gracious Ermenegildo Zegna family, and spent our final day taking a boat out on Lake Como to beautiful Bellagio. (To be continued . . .).
ARRIVEDERCI, PROFESSOR PENNAZZATO
By Lucio D’Andrea, President Emeritus AMHS would like to bid a fond farewell to Professor Roberto Pennazzato, Director of the Office of Education at the Embassy of Italy. For those members who did not have the pleasure of meeting Professor Pennazzato since he came to the Embassy over a year ago, AMHS President Emeritus Lucio D’Andrea noted that he had the pleasure to meet and discuss with Professor Pennazzato their common commitment to promote the Italian language and culture in the Fairfax County Public Schools.
Lucio added: “His agenda about promoting Italian reached beyond Fairfax County but he recognized early on that among the school districts in the Washington, D.C area, Fairfax County schools offered limited opportunities to students interested in taking Italian and he was determined to change that. He was not hesitant to express his support to Societies like ours that are committed to promoting our Italian heritage. He will be sorely missed.” We wish Professor Pennazzato all the best in his future endeavors. Professor Pennazzato’s replacement at the Embassy is Prof.ssa Maria Rosella Bitti, Director of the Office of Education.
NEW DIRECTOR OF THE ITALIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE
The new Director of the Italian Cultural Institute is Angela Tangianu. Lucio and Edvige D’Andrea met her at the Embassy of Italy on Monday, October 19. They told Ms. Tangianu about the Society and our association with her predecessor, Alberto Manai. I hope to arrange a meeting with Ms. Tangianu in the near future and hope that we (AMHS) can collaborate with the Institute on some future program.