CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Italy, Cuba for Strengthened Cultural Links .

CUBA, March 18, 2011.- Italian Ambassador Marco Baccin highlighted on Thursday the Italian presence in Cuba and called for strengthened cultural links between both nations.

"We want to rediscover convergences and links, besides highlighting the Italian presence in Cuban history from the time of conquest and colonization," he told Prensa Latina.

Initiatives to strengthen links include holding symposiums and showing artistic expressions during the week devoted to Italian culture in Cuba.

He said that far from showing distinctive Italian features, roots or contributions, they want to maintain and deepen interconnections between the two countries and their inhabitants.

Referring to the resumption of binational cooperation, he said first steps include technical and financial support to three projects to restore buildings in Havana, in coordination with the City Historian’s Office, as well as the possibility to design ways to collaborate in the agri-food sector and in renewable sources of energy.

Baccin attended a meeting here with dozens of Pinar del Rio residents, whose ancestors were from Rome, Naples and other neighboring cities, during which an exhibition of photographs and documents showing Italian links with this region, 108 miles west from Havana, was inaugurated. He said another initiative is to screen contemporary Italian films in Pinar del Rio.

Italian chroniclers, pirates, colonists and missionaries left their mark in this territory since the 15th Century. One of their greatest legacies was the foundation of Mantua, a municipality in northwestern Cuba, according to historians. (Cubaminrex-PL)

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