'La Dolce Vita'

Yesterday all roads lead to the Italy Pavilion.

This is not only Italy Pavilion Day but also the National Day of Italy. To celebrate the big day, an entertainment gala will be held in Expo Park.

Maurizio Sacconi, Italy's minister of Labor, Health and Social Policies, will attend the opening ceremony.

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A delegation of 500 Italian entrepreneurs will visit the pavilion and launch a series of Sino-Italian business forums to be held later. The delegation is headed by Emma Marcegaglia, president of Confindustria, a leading organization representing the manufacturing, construction, energy, transportation, ITC, tourism and services industries in Italy.

At noon the legendary band of the Fanfara dei Carabinieri will perform.

In the evening at the Expo Center, visitors can enjoy the works of Oscar-winning maestro Ennio Morricone, who has composed the music for many films of great directors. At nearly 80 years of age, he has become an icon in both music and cinema.

Morricone himself will conduct the Symphonic Orchestra of Rome with a Chinese chorus of 80 people performing excerpts of his masterpiece soundtracks, including "La Strada" by Federico Fellini and "Once Upon a Time in America" by Sergio Leone.

The composer of more than 400 film scores won a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 from the Hollywood Academy. Five of his scores were nominated for top honors over the years.

The Italy Pavilion is in Zone C, next to the UK and Netherlands pavilions. It features modern design and urban living as well as achievements in race cars, fashion design, great paintings and red wine.

(Shanghai Daily)