The two evening-events organized by the Italian Embassy as part of the “Week of Italian Cuisine in the World” were held in Mogadishu in the elegant setting of the Kiwano Hotel – RA International. This was a first in Somalia since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation established this initiative nine years ago. The evenings were attended by senior representatives of Somali Institutions (including the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and nine Ministers), other civil and military authorities, as well as representatives of Somali civil society and the international community based in Mogadishu. During the evening, chef Alessio Nebolini, who came specially from Italy, proposed a special menu, offering dishes that combined traditional Italian recipes with the excellence of Somali food products. The evenings were also an opportunity to highlight the proximity of the cuisines of the two countries, evidenced by the presence of numerous words of Italian origin commonly used in the Somali food vocabulary. In addition to the promotional value of Italian cuisine and a healthy lifestyle favored by the Mediterranean diet, the evenings also represented a highly appreciated and rare moment of international conviviality, a small contribution of the Italian Embassy in Mogadishu to the progressive and hoped-for return to normality of the country.
