Italy has commenced active efforts towards the future reconstruction of Odesa and is ready to provide financial support to Ukrainian cultural initiatives.
This was stated by the Deputy Ambassador of Italy to Ukraine, Francesco Pesce, during a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy, Taras Shevchenko, and the Director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Kyiv, Carlo Colonnelli.
Pesce emphasized the importance of culture as a component of Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression. According to him, Italy is prepared to offer financial support to Ukrainian cultural initiatives and discuss specific future projects in the fields of music, literature, language, and cinematography.
“Another area of cooperation is the preservation of Ukrainian cultural heritage. Italy is already actively working on the future reconstruction of Odesa, with a primary focus on the preservation of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral. Italian experts in 3D scanning have also been working on objects in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra this summer. Next year, Italy will preside over the G7, and the Ukrainian theme will be a priority”, he said.
In turn, Taras Shevchenko emphasized the importance of another project, namely the creation of a depository for the preservation of evacuated cultural valuables.
Earlier, we reported that the Italian government expressed readiness to assist in the restoration of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Odesa, which was targeted by a missile on July 23.
Photo: AP
