Rousing Evening as Casa Italia Opens Doors

(ATR) The official opening of the Casa Italia in Rio de Janeiro offered the Rome 2024 bid leaders a chance to keep their campaign in the spotlight on the eve of the Summer Games.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and members of the International and Italian Olympic Committees as well as a diverse group within the Olympic family were on hand Wednesday to openCONI’s Brazilian home.

Renzi addressed guests before dinner following an introduction by Italian NOC president Giovanni Malago.

The Italian leader, who has expressed his adamant support for Rome’s bid to bring the Olympics back to the Eternal City in 2024, spoke of the virtues of peace, respect and the historical significance of the Games in Italy.

"This is a special night for us - a night in which we come together to value the Olympic Games," Renzi said. "First of all, the Olympic Games are about the values of respecting the peace."

Malago, accompanied by Rome 2024 CEO Luca di Montezemolo, spoke of Italy’s dream to bring the Olympics back to the Eternal City 64 years since it last hosted the Games.

"This evening, even with the right attention to the rules imposed by the International Olympic Committee, we are here also to remember the seriousness of the candidacy of Rome to the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024, but we do this by sharing our message in front of the representatives and friends of the other candidate cities, Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, with which we will get ahead in a race imprinted to fair play and mutual respect," Malago said.

"From Saturday, the Games begin and we, as the Italian Olympic Committee, consider right that the media attention be concentrated on the athletes who are the only and real protagonists of the Olympics."

London 2012 fencing champion Elisa Di Francisca, who seeks to add to her two Olympic medals in Rio, was one of a host of Italian athletes present at Casa Italia.

The palatial Casa Italia grounds with its sweeping views of Copacabana and Ipanema was created and designed out of what used to be an abandoned building. Shaped like a ship, the premises are constructed out of rock and accessible via a 98-meter long bridge.

CONI has brought the dilapidated structure back to life and the city of Rio will inherit it as a legacy project.

Attendees on Wednesday night included HRH Prince Albert II, Rio 2016 president Carlos Nuzman, HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Mario Pescante, Francesco Ricci Bitti, Sergei Bubka, Rene Fasel and C.K. Wu among others.

Twenty-nine tables representing the 29 Summer Olympic Games, including Tokyo 2020, were assembled for guests in the opulent dining room. Renzi and his wife were seated at the Rome 1960 table.

Malago announced that Italy is one gold medal away from attaining 200 in its Summer Olympic history. Renzi, who will attend the opening ceremony, hopes to witness the occasion on Saturday, as he will depart Rio thereafter.

"I stay only on Saturday, so if the medal does not come then, there is a problem of the Prime Minister," Renzi said, bringing laughter to the room.

Written by Brian Pinelli in Rio de Janeiro.

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