Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 a tribute to Thai-Italian relations

Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 a tribute to Thai-Italian relations

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE

Staged under the main theme of "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", the Expo Milano 2015 will be a global showcase where more than 140 countries will display technology that offers a concrete answer to a vital need: being able to guarantee healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone. The expo, which runs from May 1 through Oct 31 in Milan, Italy, expects to welcome more than 20 million visitors.

Siam's pavilion, left, at the International Expo Turin, in 1911. 

In line with the expo's theme, Thailand's pavilion will highlight His Majesty the King's projects under the "Sustainability and the Balance of Life" concept. It will emphasise the crucial role water plays in Thai agriculture. The entrance to the Thai pavilion is a large wood-framed replica of a ngob, the traditional hat worn by farmers and vendors in Thailand, which has become a symbol of the country's agricultural identity.

Looking back, the long relationship between Thailand and Italy also began at the World Expo staged in Turin in 1911, the coronation year of King Vajiravudh, when Commissioner General Gerolamo Emilio Gerini was appointed by His Majesty to work with two Italian architects, Annibale Rigotti and Mario Tamagno, to build a Siamese pavilion in the "binocular style" with a  golden dome for the Turin expo.

The two architects had designed public buildings in Siam such as Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, Wat Benchamabophit and Hua Lamphong railway station. The result of the 1911 collaboration was a beautiful pavilion that resembled a Siamese Buddhist temple.

For this year's expo, the Thai Community Club in Piedmont, with support from notary doctor Davide Le Voci, has built a new Thai pavilion and named it Sala Daeng, for its red colour. The community organised the Festival dell'Oriente to celebrate the occasion last month, with the pavilion acting as the focal point of the festival, along with a showcase of Thai culture and traditional dance performances.

"We chose to inaugurate Sala Daeng in Turin because it's where our two countries' friendship began," said Le Voci. "In Thailand, a sala is a common meeting place, a part of the traditional Thai way of life. Sala Daeng serves as a meaningful meeting point for both Italians and Thais living in Turin. We hope it will arouse Italian curiosity about the Thai pavilion at the Expo Milano 2015."

Visit www.expo2015.org. 

Back row seated, from left, Thanawan Kasee; Jittima Sukpalin, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Rome office; notary doctor Davide Le Voci; and Poonsap Wongnoi, president of the Thai Community Club in Piedmont pose with Thai dancers at the Festival dell'Oriente.

Thai consul Nonthaphan Prateepusanond, right; Wanasri Jotikabukkana, second right, director of the Thai Trade Center in Italy; and Chomyong Prateepusanond, second left, vice-president of the Thai Buddhist Association of Thailand, pose in front of the Sala Daeng pavilion.

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