HCMC, December 14-15, 2019 – The Reunification Palace, iconic building in the heart of Saigon, turned into an ideal Italian piazza over the last weekend. Thousands of people gathered in the park to enjoy Italian landscapes, Italian food, cultural events, 3D mapping shows and singing performances, in the two-days festival “Song Nhu Y” (“Live as an Italian”), organized by Generali Vietnam, local subsidiary of the largest Italian insurance company, and powered by the Embassy of Italy in Vietnam and the Consulate General of Italy in HCMC.
In his opening remarks on Saturday, at the presence of media, stakeholder and the top management of Generali Asia and Generali Vietnam (Mr. Roberto Leonardi, CEO Asia, and Ms. Tina Nguyen, CEO Vietnam), the Ambassador of Italy in Vietnam Antonio Alessandro praised the initiative, which marked another milestone in a framework of excellent bilateral and people-to-people relations, as an ambitious cultural event, fully consistent with the Embassy’s aim to bring more Italy to Vietnam. Among other Italian cities like Rome, Milan, Pisa and Trieste, he also stressed how the re-creation of the urban landscape of Venice was a timely occasion to raise attention of the Vietnamese and international public in HCMC, as well as media, on the fundraising campaign #HelpVenice to support the reconstruction effort after the high tide in the last weeks.
The festival wrapped up on Sunday evening with a spectacular performance of 3D mapping and singing show, with famous local artists. In their presentation of the event, Ms. Tina Nguyen, CEO of Generali Vietnam, and Mr. Dante Brandi, Consul General of Italy in Vietnam, stressed the similarities between Italy and Vietnam, like the common passion for enjoyable lifestyle, good food, coffee, football. The Song Nhu Y festival, which Generali Vietnam intends to organize on an annual basis in different Vietnamese cities, came therefore as an ideal bridge to get the two peoples even closer.
