Expo 2025 Osaka: Sardinia Shines at Italy Pavilion

Osaka: A delegation representing Sardinia has taken part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the week dedicated to the region inside the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. The mission, coordinated by the regional business council, aims to promote Sardinia’s identity and heritage while showcasing the island’s contribution to the global debate on the future of society, the environment, and technology.

According to Ansa News Agency, the representation focuses on exploring and presenting the interconnection between age-old traditional culture and technological innovation, pursuing sustainability and digitalization. Sardinia’s craftsmanship is a highlight in the pavilion’s niches, starting with handcrafted filigree jewelry. The filigree technique, a complex form of metalwork, remains the most widely used by goldsmiths on the island, lending a precise identity to local productions.

Attention is also given to locally produced knives, renowned globally and attracting interest in Japan, a country that shares this tradition. Craftsmanship is further celebrated in a talk titled ‘Sardinia Island of Craftsmanship,’ organized by the regional tourism, craftsmanship, and trade council. The pavilion also showcases ceramics, Neolithic-style clay productions, traditional textile, and wooden objects crafted with culturally valuable techniques.

The art of making fresh pasta, a regional specialty, is demonstrated to visitors throughout Sardinia’s dedicated week. Famous pasta dishes include ‘culurgiones,’ typical ravioli from the Barbagia and Gallura areas, filled with potatoes, cheese, mint, and sometimes meat. Additionally, the area around the Italy Pavilion features two replicas of the Giants of Mont’e Prama, ancient stone figures from the Bronze-age Nuragic civilization discovered in Sardinia in the early 1970s.

The Giants are central to the event ‘Nuragic Civilization. The Giants of Mont’e Prama and the Archaeological Park of Sinis,’ organized by the Foundation Mont’e Prama in collaboration with the Regional Centre of Planning and the Council of education, cultural heritage, information, performing arts, and sports. Food and wine events, ‘Sardinia: the Millennial Art of Cheese’ and ‘The Sardinia of Wine Meets Japan,’ showcase these regional assets.

Another initiative focuses on the campaign to include ‘Art and Architecture in the Prehistory of Sardinia. The Domus de Janas’ in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This site includes around 3,500 tombs from the Neolithic and Copper Ages scattered across the island. Beyond showcasing excellence, the event ‘A Territory of Science,’ organized by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) in cooperation with the Regional Planning Centre, presents ET, the future European research infrastructure for gravitational wave detection, which Italy proposes to host in Sardinia.

Daily performances featuring culture, art, and music are scheduled from 6 to 6:30 pm at the Italy Pavilion’s theatre. Visitors can enjoy the ‘Fanta Folk Concert,’ ‘Polyphony of Stones’ with Enzo Favata and Tenores di Bitti ‘Mialinu Pira,’ and ‘Le Maschere del Carnevale di Ottana’ (the masks of Ottana’s Carnival).