k254 Nairobi News

The Embassy of Italy in Nairobi and the Italian

Institute for Culture, in partnership with the Italian Trade Agency, proudly marked the launch

of the tenth edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World with a grand opening held at

the iconic Hall of Kenya housed within Nairobi National Museum. This year’s celebration,

themed “Dining with Italy: 100 Years of Taste and Innovation,” began with the unveiling of

an exclusive exhibition that brought together art, culture, and gastronomy in a memorable

diplomatic and cultural showcase.

The exhibition, the first of its kind in Africa, showcased 50 historic Italian menus, curated

with scientific rigour by the Biblioteca e Museo della Cucina “Garum” and Menu Associati,

institutions renowned for preserving Italy’s culinary heritage. The menus traced an arc from

Italy’s post-unification era through the Monarchy and into the Republic, illustrating shifts in

culinary traditions, cultural influences, ingredient evolution, and the growing modern

emphasis on sustainability and regional identity.

The inauguration hosted by the Ambassador-designate of Italy to Kenya, H.E. Vincenzo Del

Monaco was graced by the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Hon. Rebecca

Miano, EGH, who served as the Chief Guest. Other dignitaries included Hon Farah Maalim,

member of the Speaker’s Panel on behalf of the Right Hon. Speaker of Parliament, Moses

Wetang’ula; Dr. Salome Wairimu Beacco, State Dep. Of Correctional Services; Chair –

Board of National Museums of Kenya Mr Edwin Jacob Abonyo; and Director General –

National Museums of Kenya, Prof. Mary Gikungu

Also in attendance was Maestro Tommaso Cascella, the world-renowned Italian painter and

sculptor, who unveiled a specially crafted sculptural table titled “Arch, Bridge, Scale,

Rainbow of Peace and Work.” Designed and completed in Nairobi in collaboration with

skilled Kenyan artisans, the artwork was presented as a cultural bridge between the two

nations and is set to join the permanent collection of the Embassy of Italy.

The evening was further distinguished by the presence of Benson Kipruto, Kenya’s

celebrated long-distance runner, Olympic marathon bronze medallist, and 2025 New York

City Marathon champion.

In her keynote address, CS Miano celebrated the long-standing friendship between Kenya and Italy, commending the Embassy’s efforts in promoting cultural diplomacy, and

highlighted the vital link between gastronomy, tourism development, and cultural exchange.

She noted that Italy’s legacy of culinary excellence continued to inspire global admiration

and acknowledged the importance of events such as the Culinary Week in strengthening

cross-cultural understanding and boosting destination experiences within Kenya’s tourism

sector. She also emphasised Kenya’s commitment to fostering partnerships that celebrate

heritage, creativity, and shared prosperity.

“Our two countries share a long-standing partnership in cultural exchange, agriculture, food

innovation, sustainability, and tourism development. This exhibition is a testament to that

collaboration—beautifully symbolised by Maestro Cascella’s sculptural table created

alongside Kenyan artisans here in Nairobi,” said the CS Miano.

She noted that Kenya could similarly elevate its global profile by building premium cultural

and agro-tourism experiences around its iconic agricultural products—coffee, tea,

macadamia, and sisal—drawing inspiration from Italy’s globally admired wine routes. She

referenced Kenya’s thriving farm experiences, including Fairview Coffee Estate, Karunguru

Coffee Farm, Kiambethu Tea Farm, Gatura Greens, and the Teita Sisal Estate, as strong

foundations for world-class tourism offerings.

Ambassador-Designate Vincenzo Del Monaco noted that the themes highlighted—

innovation, biodiversity, terroir, and cultural continuity—aligned closely with Kenya–Italy

cooperation, including support for 30,000 Kenyan coffee farmers under the Mattei Plan for

Africa. He affirmed that Italian cooking, rooted in history yet open to the future, deserved

recognition on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

The exhibition, which runs until 10 December 2025, is expected to attract thousands of

visitors eager to explore historic menus, artistic installations, and the enduring cultural legacy

of Italian gastronomy. Following the launch, the celebrations continued with four exclusive

Italian Wine Tastings—two hosted in Nairobi, one in Watamu, and one in Malindi—each

curated to showcase Italy’s regional diversity, craftsmanship, and a century of culinary

evolution.

Through the 2025 edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, the Embassy of Italy

reaffirms its commitment to strengthening cultural ties with Kenya, deepening gastronomic

appreciation, and celebrating the enduring art of Italian dining. The Embassy thanked the

media, partners, and the public for their presence, coverage, and enthusiastic participation in

this year’s landmark celebration

 

Arch, Bridge, Balance, Rainbow of Peace and Work

The presentation of the work “Arch, Bridge, Balance, Rainbow of Peace and Work” by the

Maestro Tommaso Cascella (born in Rome, 1951) stems from a residency program promoted by the Italian Cultural Institute of Nairobi in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in

Kenya and the Saint Kizito Youth Training Institute. The program trains young people in

professions ranging from carpentry to metalwork, from plumbing to information technology,

to name just a few. The work aims to create a space for international collaboration and

learning in which art becomes a vehicle for intercultural dialogue, and where language—and

in particular the practice of Italian art—serves as the beating heart of new forms of

communication. Through art Italy also engages with the world in a voice that resonates

beyond linguistic and cultural boundaries. The power of the artwork is manifested visually,

involving those who conceive it, those who create it, and the public that observes it. The

semantic richness of its materials and ideas thus becomes a valuable tool of cultural

diplomacy, a participatory project, a visual discourse on the value of art as a shared language

oriented toward the creation of a global artistic culture.

The table/sculpture conceived and entirely created in Nairobi by the Roman artist will be

exhibited for the first time on the occasion of the Week of Italian Cuisine at the National

Museum of Nairobi. It will then be permanently installed – as a donation to the Embassy of

Italy - thus enriching the artistic heritage supported by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Maestro Cascella’s creative spirit emerges from an original fusion between his personal

perception of the contemporary world and multiple iconographic and symbolic references

drawn from the history of Italian (and non-Italian) art. Animated by a silent turmoil and a

lucid madness - to quote the great Italian poet Pascoli - his works begin from a classical,

centuries-old matrix to evolve into transversal and contemporary formal combinations.

“Matter, or rather the materials, stripped of their aura, present themselves to the artist in their

physicality, their capacity to provoke inquiry, and their potential to spark adventure:

pigments, pastes, charcoal, iron, bronze, stone, cement, paper, ceramics… everything is

involved, without any prior claims to lesser or greater nobility, in the days and hours of

Tommaso Cascella, in the glorious and at the same time breathless workshop of his images.”

In the artist’s own words:

“Arch, Bridge, Balance, Rainbow of Peace and Work”

These words are a synthesis to describe this table/sculpture. Two worlds, two tables joined

by a bridge that is also a balance, symbolizing justice and brotherhood. An equilibrium that

rests on two nations, on a table/tables that are also a shared meal. And what could be more

human than sharing food and exchanging pizza and spaghetti for ugali and sukuma wiki?”

 

Story By:

Muhoro Pius W,

Business,Mining,Climate & International Trade & Diplomacy Editor,

K254 Media Africa 

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