RObella Menegazzo (Venice, 1973) teaches history of the art of Eastern Asia at the University of Milan: «The more I think about it, the more minus I convince I have embarked on this path of study because I am Venetian, and in the lagoon we all think we have some avo that met Marco Polo, but above all For the curiosity that aroused in me the tail titles of the Japanese cartoons of the 80s! They were so incomprehensible and not intuitively translatable that they became a mystery to solve for me! “
Head of the Cultural Sector of the Italian Pavilion at Expo Osaka 2025which inaugurates tomorrow April 13, he edited exhibitions and art catalogs for the major Italian, international and Asian museum institutions, his most recent book is Japan. Travel culture. Between past and future (White Star, 2025).
7.30 am
«For over a year My working days are divided between Italy and Japan and, for the time zone, they never have a precise end or beginning. I wake up with the email box and the phone already clogged and respond to the most urgent requests, sipping coffee or green tea. I do not weigh myself jumping breakfast because I am very frugal with food ».
11 am
“I take long walks Both in Milan, where I live and in Osaka, where I will stay for most Expo 2025 (until 13 October). I love Japanese stylists very much and I like to see the windows in the Shinsibashi neighborhood but mostly walk, as the assiduous attendance with the Eastern Asia taught me, to enjoy small pleasures: the wind between the leaves of the trees, the heat of the sun on the face … “.
The Dotonborori channel in the Shinsibashi district in Osaka (Getty Images)
12.30
“As much as I live more and more” connected “ I don’t like calls and, being able, I would do all live meetings. As soon as it happens, fixed work lunches with my collaborators; More creative ideas or inspirations for the curation of new exhibitions are always arising. I joke with friends saying that now I attend only artists: those who study on art history and contemporary books, that I meet in person ».
3pm
“I suspended this year Lessons in university but I organized video connections for students from the Italian pavilion to bring them to the heart of such a complex event. The exhibition itinerary focuses on the theme of true: in Italy we cross every day, almost without paying attention to it, the millennial stratification of an art that has preferred heavy materials – such as stone or marble – while Asian art, almost in a mirror of ours, has always expressed itself through the use of more ephemeral materials such as wood and paper. Our challenge is to put in dialogue, and make these two complementary cultures learn from each other who share craftsmanship Savoir-Faire. We will organize many conferences on “local regional knowledge”. Art exhibitions are open construction sites: to grow they are animated with cultural activities and meetings with the public ».
The interior Dek Pavilion Italia of Expo Osaka 2025 (MCA Visual)
6 pm
«In the Italian pavilion It is the hour of the aperitif, a space dedicated to good food where Italian musicians and artists perform every day. It is an appointment that we are very proud of, with great organizational effort ».
19.30
«In Milan I often pass by what I call my “master of the cocktail ceremony”. Observe Eugenio at the work behind the bar counter from Giacomo helps me to “turn off” the mind: I enchant me how to select the ingredients, the elegant gestures while mixing them with each other, how to position the flower to seal the aesthetics of a drink … “.
To reset the mind observes the bartender to create his cocktails.
11pm
«Beauty routine With Japanese products! Before falling asleep, I am looking for my “happy island” on the web or wandering between Greek archipelaghi and Sardinia. My dream is to do what I do with the most time for writing – in a house overlooking the Mediterranean ».
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