On August 14, Acting Ukrainian Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Tetyana Berezhna met with Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Carlo Formosa to discuss bilateral cooperation projects between Italy and Ukraine in the fields of culture, museums, and heritage protection. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Ministers Andrii Nadzhos for European Integration and Anastasia Bondar for Digital Development and Digitalization of Ukraine.
Tetyana Berezhna expressed her gratitude to Italy for its support and the successful organization of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025), held on July 11 in Rome. She also emphasized the importance of the initiatives launched during the event, such as the establishment of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund, the launch of the CURE cultural recovery platform, and the creation of the Cultural Resilience Alliance. Both sides recognised culture's crucial role in Ukrainians' resilience.
The Ukrainian Minister also expressed his personal thanks to the Italian Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, for supporting Ukraine's position on cancelling concerts by Russian artists, which serve as a propaganda tool for the Kremlin to support Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Carlo Formosa reiterated Italy's interest in promoting cooperation in the preservation of Ukraine's historical and cultural heritage. In this context, he highlighted the Grant Agreement between the Ukrainian Government of Ukraine and the Italian Government for the implementation of the programme "Restoration and Conservation of the Cultural Heritage of the Odessa Region," signed during URC2025 in Rome. Minister Berezhna thanked Italy, which will provide Ukraine with €32.5 million in non-repayable grants to finance new projects under this agreement.
Specifically, the initiatives funded through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) will enable:
- The restoration of six buildings in Odessa: Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Philharmonic Hall, Museum of Literature, City Hall’s Wedding Palace, and a City Hall’s building that will house a heritage management desk.
- The launch of the first Ukraine's School of Restoration based in Odessa (there are no schools where to learn restoration techniques in Ukraine).
- A master plan for the enhancement and management of the Odessa historic centre, protected by UNESCO, with the scientific support of Italian universities.
These initiatives "represent not only an important step in the protection of a universally recognised heritage," stated Ambassador Formosa, "but also confirm our desire to continue along a path of bilateral cooperation that helps us look to the future of this beautiful country with concreteness and confidence."
During the meeting, Deputy Minister for Digital Development and Digitization of Ukraine, Anastasia Bondar, highlighted Italy's experience in integrating cultural and artistic components into urban development processes. The discussion included prospects for cooperation in infrastructure restoration and reconstruction projects.
Finally, Deputy Minister for European Integration, Andrii Nadzhos, invited the Italian side to the upcoming conference on combating illicit trafficking of cultural property, which the Ministry plans to host this fall. The event will focus on coordinating international efforts to protect cultural heritage from illegal export, misappropriation, and other crimes against culture.
From left: Acting Ukrainian Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Tetyana Berezhna, Italian Ambassador to Ukraine Carlo Formosa
