Italy aspires to be the leading country for reconstruction of Odessa. In the past weeks, there was a sort of competition between.Italy and Greece to achieve the leadership on government aid to restore the city's sites, damaged by Russian attacks, but apparently, Italy won the first round.

The President of MAXXI contemporary art museum of Rome, Alessandro Giuli, and the President of Triennale Design Museum of Milan, Stefano Boeri, will be in Odessa on 6-7 September to talk with local authorities and visit the destroyed sites, starting with the Cathedral of the Transfiguration. With them the Ambassador of Italy Pier Francesco Zazo, as well as the Director of Unesco Desk for Ukraine Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi.

The initiative was presented on the 31st of August by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to his EU colleagues and to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba during the European summit in Toledo. The Ministry's task force leader for Reconstruction of Ukraine, Davide La Cecilia, former Italian ambassador to Kyiv, will also be present in Odessa.

Copyright: Claudio Pieri

The visit is part of the initiative of the Triennale and MAXXI, supported by the Italian President of the Minister's Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, to set up a laboratory on the reconstruction of Ukraine. As part of Italy's vocation to protect and safeguard the world's cultural heritage, the project aims to bring together Italian and international cultural institutions, architecture and engineering firms, companies and economic entities, on the theme of urban and architectural regeneration of cities and the cultural heritage of Ukraine, creating a European hub for reconstruction, with a focus on social infrastructure such as schools and cultural institutions.

Architect Stefano Boeri explains that “we are going to Odessa with the idea of making our skills available to rebuild various architectural assets affected by the war. It will be a first reconnaissance mission, we will start immediately with an inspection of the cathedral, we have activated the Italian Society of Architectural Restoration. Rebuilding the architecture of Odessa to start rebuilding normality in a nation that deserves peace."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with MAXXI and the Triennale will organise an event on 31 October 2023 in Milan to launch the Laboratory project, with the participation of the Ukrainian government and interested cultural and economic subjects.

The initiative could be preparatory to Italy taking on the patronage for the reconstruction of the city of Odessa, whose historic centre was recently included, with our decisive support, in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are numerous reasons in favour of this choice. They range from the strong historical bond of Odessa to Italy starting from its foundation, to the traditional presence of an Italian community, to the twinning agreements with Genoa and Venice. The presence of port infrastructures is decisive, making it a crucial transit point from the point of view of commercial exchanges, including those to protect world food security on which Italy is directly committed.

Supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine will be one of the priority commitments of our G7 Chairmanship next year, including through the organisation of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2025, with the aim of laying the foundations for a prosperous and independent Ukraine, in sphere of the European family.