To the presence of over 1,100 guests, the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Marco Peronaci, hosted celebrations in Washington last night to mark the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic, which coincides with the significant 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
After introducing the video message of greeting to his fellow countrymen from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, the Ambassador recalled the words of the President of the Republic regarding the special significance of the Republic’s 80th anniversary, emphasising the decisive contribution made by women to the outcome of the referendum on 2 June 1946.
A reception celebrating science, technology and the best of Made in Italy, which offered guests the chance to try out an immersive virtual reality experience organised in collaboration with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics.
Visitors had the opportunity to step inside a particle physics experiment and observe firsthand what happens when the fundamental particles of the universe collide at speeds approaching that of light.
Particular attention was drawn to the display dedicated to the special spacesuit developed by Axiom Space in collaboration with Prada, which will be worn by the astronauts on NASA’s historic Artemis IV mission, that will take humans back to the Moon.
The Olympic torches from the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have also gained popularity, continuing to attract considerable interest from the American public even months after the closing ceremony.
Among the guests who attended the celebrations at the Embassy were US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas and numerous other high-level representatives of the Administration, underscoring the priority it places on relations with Italy.
In addition to leading exponents from the Italian community, including members of Comites, the celebrations in Washington were attended by members of the diplomatic corps, as well as representatives from the business, culture and journalism community.
