The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

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The cultural events promoted by the Italian Embassy have not only sought to increase the richness of the

existing culture but to envision the joint development of a new culture. At the same time, there was a strong

desire to showcase in Italy the maturity of the Dominican Republic in the arts and to demonstrate how the

country can serve as a cultural partner for Italy, as well as an economic one, thereby addressing the need for a

greater awareness of this aspect of the Dominican Republic and against the tendency to associate it only with

its beautiful beaches.

For this reason, on March 21, 2019, I brought together Minister of Culture Eduardo Selman and the most

important business figures in the Dominican Republic at my residence to announce the first participation by

the Dominican Republic at the Venice Biennale through the exhibition

Te Veo, Me Veo

by the Dominican artist

Lidia León. The exhibition is recognized for highlighting the links between art and ethics, thus providing a

more positive and articulated message from the Dominican Republic in Italy.

As I have highlighted several times, the Dominican Republic can rely on the presence of a very successful

Italian entrepreneurial spirit embodied by some of the most important and prestigious entrepreneurs in the

country.

The date of October 3, 2019, witnessed the opening of the new Dominican-Italian Chamber of Com-

merce, an initiative that I worked at assiduously to bring to fruition. It is my conviction that many mutually

beneficial business opportunities for Italy and the Dominican Republic exist, given their complementary

economies. Traditionally, Italian companies have exported machinery to the Dominican Republic, beginning

with the agricultural sector, thereby contributing to strengthening the local economy through the contribu-

tion of technology. Among the various projects, one developed in recent years involved the collaboration

of the University of Bologna and the Pedro Henríquez Ureña University (UNPHU) with Fabio Giuntoli,

owner of the Italian company Frutas Chiara, to produce fertilizers from recycled pineapple processing resi-

dues. There are other promising sectors for Italian exports as well, such as the agri-food industry. Giuseppe

Bonarelli from the El Catador group (the Dominican Republic’s largest wine importer and now a member

of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce) has indicated that due to the embassy’s promotional

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. PART TWO. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS IN THE PRESENT: 2017-2020

Artwork “Vieira’s”,

Ø 160 x 240 h.

by Mauro Mori, part of

the exhibit “A Natural

Approach” at the

Museum of the Royal

Houses, as part of the

celebrations of the 500

years of the arrival of

Bishop Alessandro

Geraldini to Santo

Domingo and the

participation of Italy as

a country of honor of

the First Design Week of

the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo,

September 2019.

Artwork “Carciofo

Cromatico,” on canvas

by Massimo Caiazzo,

from the exhibition

“Polychromy” at

the Museum of the

Royal Houses in the

framework of the

celebrations of the

500th anniversary of

Geraldini and Italy’s

participation as a country

of honor in the First DR

Design Week 2019.