After the official welcome by the governor of West Flanders, the president visited the town hall, followed by the Church of Our Lady and the Groeninge Museum, places that testify to the artistic ties between Belgium and Italy. Art and culture took a prominent place during this state visit.
Chat with College of Europe students
Today approximately 300,000 Italians live in Belgium. And of course there are also the Italian students who take classes at the College of Europe in Bruges. Andrea Montanari for example. She absolutely did not want to miss her president’s visit. “It was an incredible experience, even if it was short. But in Italy we really appreciate our president. Even today you see that many students came here, even if it was just to meet him for barely 30 seconds.”
After an hour or two, the president’s visit was over. From the Groeninge Museum it went directly to the airport in Ostend.