Hanoi’s Ly Thai To square turned into Piazza Italia
Last weekend (November 23-24), Ly Thai To square was turned into Piazza Italia, a truly Italian experience with entertainment going on overnight for the first ever “white night” in Hanoi.
The third Piazza Italia 2019 and the fourth Week of Italian Cuisine in the World taking place at Ly Thai To square, Hoan Kiem district.
The annual “Piazza Italia” cultural fair and Italian Gastronomy Week saw the Ly Thai To square transformed into an Italian square (Piazza Italia) with booths for Italian foods, drinks and products.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on November 23, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said the Piazza Italia 2019 is held to further tighten the friendship between Hanoi and the Italian Embassy in Vietnam as well as diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Italy in general.
It has become an annual cultural event providing a truly Italian experience where visitors have the opportunity to dive into various aspects of Italian lifestyle: gastronomy, music, design, fashion, cinema, sports and much more, he said.
An art performance by Vietnamese artists.
Visitors have the opportunity to dive into various aspects of Italian lifestyle: gastronomy, music, design, fashion, cinema, sport and much more.
Cooking competition.
According to Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro, the Piazza featured a fashion show by Aristino; cooking demonstrations and competition by Italian food strategist and chef Stefania Corrado; concerts by the original “a cappella” group Mezzotono, jazz singer from Naples Simona De Rosa, Morning Glory jazz band from Hai Phong, teachers and students from the National University of Arts Education; a performance of artists from Thang Long Music and Dance Theater; international music with Italian DJ Walter Natale; karaoke contest; football presentations by AC Milan; screening of live football matches of the Italian “Serie A” in cooperation with FPT-Television; screening of the Italian movie “Quo vado?” by Checco Zalone.
There also included a food court, with some of the best Italian restaurants in Hanoi and distributors of Italian products. It was a diverse journey through the extraordinary Italian taste, thus celebrating the 4th Week of the Italian Cuisine in the world; some of the best Italian brands in Vietnam, as well as iconic products of Italian design.
The 4th Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, themed “"Food education: the culture of taste”, was celebrated all over the world from November 18-24.
Some of the best Italian restaurants in Hanoi and distributors of Italian products at the event.
Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro presents his country’s Order of Merit to Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.
On the occasion, Ambassador Antonio Alessandro on November 23 presented his country’s Order of Merit to Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.
The Order of Merit is awarded to foreign individuals who have made particularly important contributions to the development of the relationship between the two countries in general and of Italy in particular./.
Balade en France, also known as Walk in France, is Vietnam's largest French food festival, is ongoing at the King Ly Thai To Monument near Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi.
On November 13 in Hanoi, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) held a ceremony to present its report to President Ho Chi Minh in commemoration of its 75th Traditional Day (November 17, 1950 - November 17, 2025) and the Patriotic Emulation Congress for the 2025-2030 period. The solemn program was attended by VUFO leaders, officials, and staff.
In 1950, the resistance war against French colonialism entered a new phase, as the Vietnamese revolution established official relations with revolutionary forces around the world, including the Soviet Union, China, and others. The Viet Nam Committee for the Protection of World Peace was founded in the Viet Bac resistance base as the first people-to-people diplomacy organization, serving as the predecessor of today’s Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO).
On November 12 in Hanoi, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF, Germany) held a farewell reception, marking the conclusion of its operations in Vietnam. The event served as an opportunity to acknowledge and express gratitude for the organization’s contributions to promoting Vietnam–Germany mutual understanding and development cooperation in Vietnam.
In the context of Viet Nam actively implementing its policy of economic diplomacy to serve national development, the activities of the Viet Nam-Singapore Friendship Association (VSFA) have undergone significant and appropriate shifts, harmoniously combining people-to-people diplomacy with economic diplomacy. The Association’s initiatives and action programs are always oriented toward individuals and communities, closely aligned with, and practically supporting Viet Nam’s socio-economic development programs.
On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Cuba (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2025), Cuban Ambassador to Viet Nam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes shared with VietnamTimes magazine his reflections on the special friendship between the two countries.
After nearly three decades of establishment and development, the Da Nang Union of Friendship Organizations (DAFO) has affirmed its position as a model example in Vietnam’s people-to-people diplomacy - a comprehensive, effective, and sustainable operational model that creatively connects with international friends and contributes positively to the city’s integration process along the Han River.
During 2024-2025, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) has taken the lead and cooperated with partners to organize numerous friendship exchanges and meetings in conjunction with visits and working trips by Party and State leaders to various countries, contributing to strengthening friendship between the people of Viet Nam and international friends.
Through people-to-people diplomacy, messages of reconciliation have been conveyed and acknowledged by the leaders of both countries. It was the efforts of people-to-people diplomacy, with the Viet Nam-USA Society at its core, through various channels connecting American organizations and individuals who supported normalization and the establishment of relations with Viet Nam, that served as a driving force leading to the normalization of relations and the establishment of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and the United States on July 12, 1995.
Friendship
![[Photo] Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Presents Report to President Ho Chi Minh on Occasion of its 75th Traditional Day](https://vietnamtimes.thoidai.com.vn/stores/news_dataimages/2025/112025/14/10/40e3ab8281d4ab798f0744b1f1ad06b2.jpg?rt=20251114104154)
Focus
Focus
Friendship
Focus
Friendship
Focus
Focus
Friendship