04-06-2015
Italian food-blogger (and lawyer) Serena Palumbo shares her feelings after spending a whole, long, day strolling down the Decumano, in Rho, discovering Expo Milano 2015 and visiting some of the most interesting pavilions
For the past 11 years, I have lived with one foot on each side of the Atlantic. Lucky circumstances and hard work brought me to move from Italy to New York. Today, I consider myself a New Yorker who was born and raised in Italy. Bridging the gap between these two heritages is a bit like reconciling both parts of the brain: the more disciplined and determined one tries to overrule the other, more creative and fun, and vice versa. I have found a balance in embracing both, along with the fact that being Italian will always define me, no matter where I live. As much as I love Italy and being Italian, I am often critical of it, partly because I am becoming more of a New Yorker every day. I get constantly frustrated by the fact that few instances really showcase the beauty of the Country, and Italy sometimes lacks the ingenuity to build the opportunity to shine. But, when that opportunity comes along, Italy really does shine. Italians are hardworking, they have built their Country, and many more, including a large part of the United States. As a part of my American heritage, I love underdogs: seeing how they are often overlooked and how they work their way up. 2015 is the year that Italy, the underdog, really shines: from May 1, 2015 to October 31, 2015, Milan hosts the Universal Exhibition. The Expo has a theme that is near and dear to Italy, “Feeding the Planet, Energy For Life”. Visiting the Expo, you’ll not only learn about the agricultural and gastronomical aspects of food from 140 Countries, but you’ll also get to taste it! Living in New York, I didn’t hear much about the preparation and investment Italy put into the Expo. As usual, many have criticized this huge undertaking. Some even took the protest to the streets of Milan. Since I see the Expo as an opportunity to shine, I was a little confused when I landed in Milan and realized that it has such a polarizing effect on people. “Food is life” says the ad campaign… food is my life too, because I love to eat, cook and talk about it on Lemonade25. In spite of the criticism (if you are Italian, you are well versed in filtering what comes out of people’s mouth before it reaches your ears), I was thrilled nonetheless and, as soon as a colleague cancelled a meeting, I took the subway to the Rho, where the Expo is located. This is also my first Universal Exhibit ever so I was twice as excited!
Ready for a day at the Expo
The main street, the Decumano, crosses the whole site from east to west for one and a half kilometers
Our 2015 World Fair Hotline
by
Serena Palumbo is an Italian living in New York. In the daytime she's a lawyer and her evenings are dedicated to cooking and blogging for her site Lemonade25 and The Daily Meal. When not in the office or in the kitchen, she loves reading books and comics from Marvel, going to the cinema or to a theater, getting lost in the streets of New York and traveling with her family.
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