Month-long Italian festival begins here tomorrow

Kolkata, Nov 16 (UNI) After New Delhi and Mumbai, the City of Joy will host the month-long ''Festa Italiana'' (Festival of Italy) from tomorrow to showcase the best in Italy in diversified sectors through variety of events.

Announcing the festival programmes here today, Italian Consul General in Kolkata Agostino Pinna said the festival would get off to a colourful start with the conferring of the second highest civilian honour in Italy ''Stella della Solidrieta Italiana 2006'' on ten prominent Kolkatans, including two Italian nationals residing here for long.

This would be followed by a number of panel discussions, seminars and lectures by several renowned professors and academicians from different Italian universities and educational institutions, Mr Pinna informed.

Highlighting some other major events, not even presented in New Delhi or Mumbai, the Italian Consul General said these included organisation of a special Italian week, separate programmes on Italian cinema, Italian industry, Italian cuisine and glimpses of Italian art and culture besides the scope of bilateral tourism.

Mr Pinna said a large business delegation of his country representing various sectors, including steel, tourism, art and culture, fashion, leather and jems and jewellery, would take part in the Festa Italiana.

During their stay they would not only interact with their Indian counterparts but would also take part in a number of business sessions with members of various Chambers of Commerce.

The festival would, however, end on December eleven through the presentation of a 'nite of Italian songs, music and dance', to be presented by an Italian DJ, who would be specially flown in to the city, Mr Pinna informed.

Asked about the bilateral trade volume between the two countries, the Italian Consul General informed that from the present 4.5 billion dollars it was poised to cross the ten billion dollars mark by 2010 with a number of new Italian companies evincing keen interest in setting up joint venture units in India in different sectotrs.

To another query he said after Kolkata, the festival would move onto Chennai and Bangalore before presenting some glimpses to some smaller cities.

Chairman of Kolkata Chapter of Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce Pankaj Parekh was also present on the occasion.

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