One of the spheres that makes up the futuristic headquarters of Amazon in Seattle will be lit up with the colors of the Italian flag – green, white and red. The e-commerce colossus has, in fact, decided to pay homage to the Bel paese with a special initiative on the occasion of Republic Day.
The Spheres are described by the company as “as space which allows Amazon employees to work or enjoy lunch in an environment which is more similar to a park than to an office.” The space hosts 40 thousand plants from rain forests from over 30 countries, and constitutes an “open space” without offices or meeting rooms, in an effort to “recreate a connection between the urban space and nature”, the company underlines.
Amazon’s luminous initiative came a few days after the launching on Monday, May 30th of ‘Made in Italy Days’ at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – another initiative of the Seattle company along with the ministry and the Italian Trade and Investment Agency.
The purpose of the event is to support Made in Italy around the world, and particularly, in eight key markets: Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates.
In these latter countries, Amazon will open a special promotional window that will last four days in conjunction with the celebrations of Italian Republic Day.
The opening event was held today at the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, where Amazon presented a delegation of small and medium Italian businesses to display their products in front of an international public.
Amazon therefore joins beIT, the nation branding campaign to Made in Italy promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, along with the Italian Trade and Investment Agency.
At the same time as the Made in Italy Days, Amazon has also announced its commitment to support the over 18,000 small and medium Italian businesses (in Italian, ‘PMI’) that sell their products and services through their online stores, and that have created over 50 thousand jobs in Italy. The objective of Jeff Bezos’ empire is to reach 1.2 billion euros in overseas sales each year by 2025 – more than double the value of exports in 2020.
Meanwhile, in Rome, as is the custom, the president of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, paid homage at the Altare della Patria, laying a laurel wreath with a ribbon bearing the colors of the Italian flag. Present at the ceremony were Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini, as well as the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, Roberto Fico and Elisabetta Casellati.
“The Republic is committed to creating conditions for peace, and its Armed Forces, on the basis of mandates entrusted by the government and the parliament, are joint in this effort.” It was in fact President Mattarella that wrote these words, in a message sent to the Chief of Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, in occasion of the 76th anniversary of the Republic of Italy.
