On September 27, Armenia’s Ambassador to Italy Sargis Ghazaryan paid a working visit to the city of Martina Franca in the Pulia state of Italy, reports the RA MFA press service.

Ambassador Ghazaryan had a meeting with Mayor of Martina Franca Franco Ancona. During the meeting, the sides discussed issues related to Armenian-Italian relations, including opportunities for the development of cooperation between local self-government bodies in various sectors.

Ambassador Sargis Ghazaryan also had a meeting with President of Italiadecide Association and Honorary Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Luciano Violante. During the conversation, the sides mentioned that the various kinds of events commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were unprecedented in terms of number and content, and in relation to that, Ambassador Ghazaryan expressed gratitude to Luciano Violante for his support and participation.

In the evening, the Italiadecide Association and the Italian Encyclopedia held the closing ceremony of the Biennale of Memories, the last session of which was devoted to the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Among the speakers were Ambassador Sargis Ghazaryan, Mayor Franco Ancona and President of Italiadecide Association Luciano Violante. The speakers talked about the Armenian Genocide, as well as the need to preserve the memories and carry out educational programs in order to prevent genocides. Sargis Ghazaryan and Luciano Violante also particularly touched upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian policy and its destructive and belligerent policy in regard to the settlement of the conflict, as well as Azerbaijan’s provocations and hostile actions leading to the growth of tension on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the Line of Contact with the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

After the Biennale, another concert dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was held as part of the Anima Mea Classical Music Festival at the famous Ducale Palace in Martina Franca. The concert was organized by the organizers of the festival and began with opening remarks by Sargis Ghazaryan and Luciano Violante, followed by performances of Komitas’s songs by Pulia’s Florilegium Vocis Choir and readings of the Italian versions of poet Daniel Varoujan’s poems.

Mass media outlets of Pulia provided wide coverage of the events.