The Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025: a success beyond expectations
The Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, designed by architect Mario Cucinella to represent the theme "Art regenerates life", recently received the first prize in the "Theme Development" category from the Bureau International des Expositions, the most prestigious award given by the BIE. In six months, in addition to millions of visitors, over 1,300 official delegations visited the Italian Pavilion, including the imperial family with Princess Nobuko Mikasa no Miya, who attended the Italian National Day ceremony, in which Bracco played a leading role.
As Gold Sponsor of the Italian Pavilion, and thanks to the synergy with Commissioner Mario Vattani, the Bracco Group played a leading role in numerous important events, offering scientific, cultural and institutional content of great value. Among the most significant initiatives were: the opening ceremony on 13 April, attended by Fulvio Renoldi Bracco; the Agevity Japan Forum on 24 June, promoted by Assolombarda and dedicated to innovation and longevity; the Ito di Mancho Symposium on 16 April; two in-depth events on artificial intelligence – AI in Diagnostics and IIT Health Technologies Workshop –, the extraordinary performance by young dancers from the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala on Italian National Day, 12 September, and, as part of Fuori Expo, the photographic exhibition created by the Bracco Foundation, "Milan through the eyes of Leonardo," hosted by the Italian Embassy in Tokyo, together with the event a Dialogue between Japan and Italy on Science, Culture, and Longevity.
The Osaka Expo has just ended, but the story of the Italian Pavilion continues. Among the 158 participating countries, Italy is the only one to continue its exhibition presence in Japan: the most representative works of the Pavilion are now featured in the exhibition "Atlante Farnese and the Treasures of the Italy Pavilion from Expo 2025 Osaka", hosted at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts until 12 January 2026. The Japanese public can thus continue to admire authentic masterpieces such as the Farnese Atlas, Perugino's Banner of Justice, precious pages from Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus and the video installation by Ito Mancho, created by Bracco. The exhibition, organised with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Italian Embassy in Tokyo, the Italian Consulate in Japan and the Italian Cultural Institute in Osaka, symbolically opens the celebrations for the 160th anniversary of Italian-Japanese relations, scheduled for 2026.
This Expo was also a great opportunity for Bracco to consolidate its brand internationally. Osaka 2025 was an important moment for the Group to strengthen cultural and commercial relations with Japan, promote the excellence of Made in Italy and generate new opportunities for international development.
