Italian Ambassador to China Massimo Ambrosetti Photo: Courtesy of the Italian Embassy in Beijing

A highly anticipated exhibition titled "Civilizations of the Great Rivers" opened at the Ningbo Museum in East China's Zhejiang Province on July 6. The exhibition showcases a total of 200 cultural relics from four major museums in Italy and 13 cultural and heritage institutions in China. 

It is co-hosted by the Ningbo Museum and the China Cultural Relics Exchange Center, with joint support from four prestigious museums in Italy - the Egyptian Museum, the Royal Museum, the Museum of Oriental Art in Turin, and the Giovanni Barracco Museum of Ancient Sculpture in Rome. 

Italian Ambassador to China Massimo Ambrosetti and the Consul General of Italy in Shanghai Tiziana D'Angelo were invited to the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

The exhibition showcases artifacts related to the Liangzhu civilization and the Erlitou culture, providing evidence of the enduring nature of the Chinese civilization over the last 5,000 years. 

The final section of the exhibition hall, dedicated to the "Silk Road," symbolically connects the rivers to the oceans to illustrate how civilizations are interlinked. This section also delves into the present-day significance of the exchange and convergence of different civilizations and the emergence of new dynamics.

This collaboration marks a new chapter in cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Italy and promotes each country's splendid civilization and rich history. 

In recent years, the city of Ningbo has achieved significant results in cooperation with its Italian sister cities, not only in the field of economic trade but also in the promotion of historical heritage, cultural and artistic research, and the exchange of expertise in the restoration of cultural relics. These achievements have become highlights of bilateral exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

After the event, the ambassador also visited the Tianyige Museum to appreciate Ningbo's long history of book collection and culture, and to witness the ancient art of book repair and preservation.

The exhibition will run until October 8, according to media reports.