June 2016, Year VIII, n. 6
Domenico Giorgi
Bewitched by ‘Il Bel Paese’
Telos: 150 years of friendship. In 1866 Italy and Japan signed the Treaty marking the start of diplomatic relations; this year the two countries celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Treaty. Could you briefly outline the history of this friendship between Japan and Italy?
Domenico Giorgi: A few years after Japan opened to the West in 1854, Italian silk producers and traders were the first to trigger relations between the two countries. They went to Japan to obtain raw material undamaged by the pébrine disease that had decimated silkworm breeding farms in Europe. This was the situation when on 25 August 1866 the Friendship and Trade Treaty was signed between Italy and Japan in Edo (Japan), officially marking the beginning of bilateral diplomatic relations ...more
Editorial
Given the cultural differences and geographical distance between Italy and Japan the two countries would appear to be like chalk and cheese. But this isn’t the case. What better opportunity to explore this reciprocal bewitchment than the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of relations between Italy and Japan? And who better to tell us the history of this long relationship than Domenico Giorgi ...more
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