Italian creativity stops off in Ulan Bator

From art to design, fashion to cuisine: during Italian Week, cultural institutions and retailers of Italian products working in Mongolia offered the opportunity to familiarise oneself with Italian tradition and innovation in the city's museums and public spaces.

Ulan Bator (AsiaNews) - During the week of 8-15 February, the inhabitants of Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, were able to enjoy a rich programme of events presented by the Italian Embassy, dedicated to contemporary Italian culture and achievements in many different fields, from art to design, fashion, opera, music, culinary delicacies and various aspects of the Italian lifestyle.

The aim of the 9th Italian Week 2026 in Ulan Bator was to “promote Italian creativity and cultural dialogue through a programme of exhibitions, public events and urban initiatives”, as stated in the event announcements. The initiative brought together various cultural institutions and a network of official distributors and retailers of Italian products working in the Mongolian capital, offering the opportunity to familiarise oneself with Italian culture both in museum exhibitions and in public spaces around the city.

Throughout the week, shops and distributors actively participated in the initiative, organising a series of meetings and performances dedicated to Italian culture and its articles and products in their own spaces. This included individual varieties, special promotions, tastings or other customer-focused events, accompanied by the display of official materials prepared for the occasion.

Among the most important cultural events was the exhibition “Quando il centro si sposta” (When the centre shifts) at the Zanabazara Art Museum, which brought together the works of contemporary painters Luca Buvoli, Pietro Ruffo and Bekhbaatar Enkhtor, a Mongolian artist who studied and lives between Italy and Mongolia. This was his first public exhibition, curated by Chiara Zampetti Egidi with the help of Darkhižav Žadambaa.

The Cinghiskhan National Museum then hosted the exhibition “Italy is fashion: Italian notes”, with observations on Italian design and fashion through famous works by Italian designers and fashion leaders, from Valentino to Max Mara. The exhibition rooms also featured original lamps by Giò Ponti, and photographs provided by @Opera_Roma showed the costumes prepared by Valentino for “La Traviata” in 2016. It was also possible to watch the documentary “Italy is Fashion” thanks to 3D viewers distributed throughout the exhibition spaces. The opening of the exhibition at the Cinghiskhan Museum was also attended by the well-known Mongolian singer Amartuvšin Enkhbat, accompanied by maestro Stefano Salvatori, conductor of La Scala theatre.

The Shangri-la Hotel then organised an event dedicated to Italian food and wine traditions, offering typical dishes made with excellent Italian products by chef Pasquale Rinaldo. The event was held at the Shangri-la Hotel's Café Park, which also hosted the gala evening organised by the Italian Embassy in Mongolia. “Italian Cuisine Week in the World” is an annual event dedicated to promoting Italian cuisine and high-quality agri-food products, with the aim of raising awareness and promoting Italian food and wine traditions using typical products and protecting natural resources and local traditions, also in support of sustainability.