SALON: Dear Mr. Ambassador, the years that you are heading the Italian Embassy in the Russian Federation are remembered by everyone. Now, after several fruitful years, which milestones along this path seem to you the most significant, which projects, initiatives of the Italian Embassy in Russia can rightly be considered an achievement, what can you be proud of in this field?

Vittorio Claudio Surdo: I am especially proud that I headed the embassy during the period of genuinely boosting bilateral relations. Time, which is characterized by continuity in relation to the preceding stages of the Russian-Italian relations and gives hope for a fruitful future. Next year will be the year of Italian culture in Russia and the year of Russian culture in Italy. Already developed a lot of projects in this direction. A number of joint projects have already started in the economic sphere (FIAT, SOLLERS and the commissioning of the large agro-industrial complex of the CREMONINI group).

S: The interior theme that our magazine deals with is closely related to the Italian furniture industry. And what is the topic “Russia - Italy” for you in this sense?

- The popularity of Italian furniture in Russia fills us with pride, because this is the result of the work of designers and entrepreneurs who set themselves the goal of achieving success in promoting our products on the Russian market, starting from scratch, and succeeded in this. A huge number of Russian buyers have opted for Italian products. As for Italian design, its strong point lies in the fact that it is immediately recognizable. Although it is impossible to avoid the exchange of ideas beyond the borders of the state when creating intellectual products, I hope that identification with Italy in different countries will never disappear.

S: Italian design currently occupies a leading position in the world. This is not only furniture and interior design, but also automobile design, fashion, and consumer goods, and luxury products. Will this situation continue, in your opinion, and with what do you associate the specifics of this phenomenon?

- It is possible that the Italian design of some categories of goods is leading in the world, but the competition is very tough. I am pleased to note that periodically Italian things, silhouettes, ideas come into fashion. Apparently, this is due to the fact that the Italian manner of interpreting the forms of everyday objects does not require efforts to decipher, these products are timeless, and therefore they have not lost their relevance even after many years. I think the secret to the success of Italian design lies in the simplicity of the lines.

S: For the Russian person, Italy is the Uffizi Gallery and the Doge's Palace, FERRARI cars and ARMANI jackets, Lake Como and such typical dishes as pasta and pizza. And what is Italy for you?

- You have led, of course, the right examples, but Italy is also much more. For me, it is primarily a country where I grew up in a period of great difficulties, but also high hopes. My generation was faced with the task of restoring Italy and, speaking of his profession, which I was lucky enough to do, to help the country define for itself a new role in the international arena.