Presentation of the portrait “Itō Mancho” by Domenico Tintoretto
Portrait of Itō Mancho from 1585
welcomes visitors to the Italy Pavilion at the Osaka Expo
The flagship of Bracco’s participation in the Osaka Expo is the cultural project Itō Mancho, presented at the Italy Pavilion during a scientific conference attended alongside Commissioner General Mario Vattani and Diana Bracco (joining via video link from Milan), the event featured: Andrea Raos, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute; Rossella Menegazzo, Professor of East Asian Art History at the University of Milan; Gian Giacomo Attolico Trivulzio, President of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum and founder of the Trivulzio Foundation; Monsignor Alberto Rocca of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana; Kōso Toshiaki, S.J., former Chancellor of Sophia University; Maji Rhee, Dean of the Center for International Education at Waseda University; Takako Tamai, Adjunct Researcher at the Aizu Museum, Waseda University; Koshiro Sonoda, Director of the Osaka Office of the Nagasaki Prefecture; and Isabella Castiglioni, Professor at the University of Milan-Bicocca and Director of Research, Development and Innovation at CDI-Centro Diagnostico Italiano.
The portrait of the young Itō Mancho, leader of the first Japanese diplomatic mission to Europe in the 16th century, which is owned by the Trivulzio Foundation and arrived in Osaka on a cargo flight operated by ITA Airways, holds not only artistic value but, above all, symbolic significance for the relationship between Italy and Japan. The story of this young man’s journey through the Bel Paese — landing in Livorno before travelling on to Rome and Venice to attend courts and palaces and meet dignitaries and popes — is truly fascinating and it marks one of the very first “official” moments of contact between the two cultures.
For these reasons, the work was the subject of a technical-scientific campaign promoted by the Bracco Foundation, the results of which are an integral part of the exhibition itinerary.
"We can only imagine the emotions that the young traveller and his companions must have felt as they witnessed the wonders of the Renaissance with their own eyes," said Diana Bracco. "Wonders revived in the beautiful concept behind our Pavilion, designed by Studio Cucinella and inspired by the Renaissance Ideal City, with its theatre, porticoes, piazza and Italian garden. It’s wonderful that, centuries later, Itō Mancho continues to provide a bridge between our cultures, serving as a host at the extensive Italy Pavilion exhibition space."
The multidisciplinary campaign of non-invasive diagnostic analyses on the work, curated by Prof. Isabella Castiglioni's team, composed of the University of Milan, Bicocca University, Spin off IUSS Pavia DeepTrace Thechnologies and La Venaria Reale Restoration Centre.
For the entire six months of the Universal Exhibition (until 13 October 2025), visitors can admire the portrait together with the video story curated by the creative team of Mauro Belloni and Cromazoo, which, placed next to the painting, offers the general public a surprising journey inside the painting.
The video recording of the conference
The Portrait of Itō Mancho
between art, culture and science