Italian foreign affairs deputy minister Ricardo Antonio Merlo visited Santo Domingo for the 120th anniversary of Dominican-Italian relations.
For the occasion, Italian ambassador in the Dominican Republic Andrea Canepari, announced the intention of Italy to build new facilities for the embassy on Av. Núñez de Cáceres in Santo Domingo. At present, the Italian embassy operates from a building in Calle Manuel Rodríguez Objío 4, in Gazcue, Santo Domingo. The deputy foreign relations minister said the new facility would be high tech.
During events to celebrate the long-standing Italian-Dominican relations, Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas highlighted that the value of trade between the two nations is US$400 million a year, and around 120,000 Italian tourists visit the Dominican Republic every year. An estimated 60,000 Italians reside in the Dominican Republic.
During his stay in the Dominican Republic, visiting deputy minister Merlo attended the opening of the photography exhibition “IILA, an Italian-American Dream 1967-2017” at the Ministry of Foreign Relations Convention Center. The touring exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Italian-Latin American Institute (IILA). The images can be seen at the Ministry of Foreign Relations convention center. Also participating in the opening of the exhibition was Dominican ambassador in Rome Peggy Cabral and the secretary general of IILA, Donato Di Santo.
Also inaugurated last week was an exhibition of 50 iconic haute couture dresses by famed designers at the atrium of the Blue Mall of Av. Winston Churchill and Av. Gustavo Mejía Ricart in Santo Domingo. The dresses were worn by Lady Diana, Jacqueline Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, among others. The touring exhibition, “Icons of Italian Fashion History,” is organized by the Sartirana Art Foundation and will be open at the Blue Mall through 26 October 2018.
A retired physician and medicine professor, Giorgio Forni, director of the Sartirana Art Foundation and owner of the collection, explained that it is his private collection. It shows pieces by top Italian fashion houses between the years 1950 to 2000. It features works by designers Gianfranco Ferré, Gianni Versace, Salvatore Ferrgamo, Valentino Garavani, Franco Moschino, Irene Galitzine among others.
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8 October 2018
