JEDDAH — The Consulate General of Italy in cooperation with the Italian Business Group organized the 3rd edition of the Italian Design Day with a conference titled "A New Urban Value Branding Public Space" at the Italian Club here recently. The conference was moderated by Architect Andrea Boschetti, ambassador of Italian Design, accompanied by Dr. Flora Ribera. They discussed the distinctiveness of the Innovation Design District in Milano, which has become an international case study for its innovative concept. It covers a million square meters and is just a few minutes away from the heart of Milan. It is designed to be a new city extraordinarily well connected to the rest of Italy and Europe — a true model of a future city that will be smart, innovative and sustainable, a gateway to Italy. In his speech, Boschetti explained modern urban development. Ribera's presentation illustrated the importance of creating communication contents in adding value to an urban project design. Lucio Frigo, adviser to the Saudi Culture Ministry for the rehabilitation of Jeddah's historic Balad district, and the brothers Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz, talented young architects who designed the first Saudi Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2018, intervened in the discussions bringing their experiences and perspectives in the field of design as well. The event was followed by a gala dinner that displayed the beauty of Italian gastronomy, giving the opportunity for the guests to try a variety of distinctive dishes from Italian culture. The dinner was offered by the Italian Consulate. Consul General of Italy Stefano Stucci told Saudi Gazette: "The aim of the event is to bring the excellence of Italian design to Saudi to show the beauty and the deep meaning of Italian design to a selected audience of experts. We also want to share experiences in the field of design and architecture. Today we also had a presentation of Al-Balad at the Saudi pavilion in the Venice Biennale." The Italian Design Day in the World is an annual event, celebrated by Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Farnesina), to showcase the uniqueness of Italian design and architecture and to exchange experiences in the field. The event is organized by Italian diplomatic missions all over the globe.
