The long-awaited Milan Expo has opened its doors to a big fanfare, a warning from the pope, and clashes between protesters and police in the streets.
For Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the six-month technological exhibition and global fair is a huge prestigious event.
The Expo bears the slogans Feed The Planet, Energy for Life.
“Today is the start of “tomorrow”, first of all beginning with the contradictions of a planet that needs to be fed, but which witnesses the absurd imbalance of a billion people who continue to die of hunger and a billion people who suffer from eating either too much or the wrong food,” Matteo Renzi told the opening ceremony.
Pope Francis referred to the irony of a global spectacle devoted to sustainable development and feeding the poor, being dependent on corporate sponsorship.
Speaking by televised link-up to the opening ceremony, he said:
“The Expo is an ideal opportunity to globalise solidarity. Let us not waste it but rather value it fully.”
An ina
