Recognized as countries with ancient lineages, both China and Italy have created splendid civilizations during the long span of human history, and have created a wealth of spiritual and cultural heritages. China has a continuous civilization of more than 5,000 years, and have contributed glittering pearls that shine brightly in the treasure house of human knowledge: in philosophy and ideology China established Confucianism; in institutional culture and governance the country offered the central examination system; and in technology and engineering China created the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Italy not only gave birth to the glorious ancient civilization of Rome, but also became the cradle of the Renaissance, which had vast and far-reaching influence on the evolution of Western civilization, as well as created countless magnificent and beautiful historical marvels. Because of these similarities, President Xi Jinping emphasized in his article published in March 2019 that “China and Italy are both stellar examples of Eastern and Western civilizations, and both have written splendid chapters in the history of human progress.”

“Even mountains and seas cannot distance people with common aspirations.” China and Italy have enjoyed a long history of great friendship. Records relating to the Roman Empire can be found as early as in the History of the Later Han Dynasty - Records of the Western Regions , wherein as stated that “its people [Romans] are all tall and upright, similar to Chinese, so the region was called the Da Qin.” Roman history books also offer records stating that the Chinese are tall and have a sense of justice, and enjoy filial piety and longevity. The “Da Qin Nestorian Popular China Stele” erected in 781 CE provides a detailed record of the spread of Christianity in China. The introduction of The Journey of Marco Polo to Italy has stimulated a strong interest within Italians towards the ancient country of oriental civilization that is China. Italian missionary Matteo Ricci not only helped Xu Guangqi and others to introduce advanced European science and technology to China, but also translated Confucian Classics such as the Four Books into Latin, which subsequently had a far-reaching impact on the Enlightment. These records fully demonstrate that despite the great distance between the two countries, both civilizations shared a strong affinity bounded by mutual appreciation and influence. Such mutual appreciation guarantees a persistent and long-lasting friendship between the two nations.

The National Museum of China and Italian cultural institutions have maintained close exchanges and have achieved fruitful results in recent years. In 2018, the National Museum of China cooperated with 21 Italian museums and 17 Chinese museums to host the exhibition “Embracing the Orient and the Occident: When the Silk Road Meets the Renaissance ”. Through a cross-cultural perspective, the exhibition systematically introduced the many tales of long-standing cultural and artistic exchanges between China and Italy from the 13th to the 16th centuries, and demonstrated the historical process of multicultural integration. From April 24th to June 30th, 2019, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, “The Journey Back Home: An Exhibition of Chinese Artifacts Repatriated from Italy ” opened at the National Museum of China, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism of the People's Republic of China and National Cultural Heritage Administration. It demonstrated the determination of the Chinese and Italian governments to jointly protect cultural relics and to soundly express the possibility of returning lost cultural relics to their motherland through judicial, diplomatic and other related channels. This exhibition became a memorable story in the history of cultural exchanges between both countries.

Implementing the important decision of President Xi Jinping and President Sergio Mattarella on mutually hosting the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism, the National Museum of China and the Italian Ministry of Culture originally planned to jointly host an exhibition in 2020 to reflect on the cultural origins of the two countries, however this exhibition was postponed due to the global pandemic. This year, coinciding with the relaunch of the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism, and also coinciding with the 110th founding anniversary of the National Museum of China, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the National Museum of China, and National Roman Museum once again join hands to launch an exhibition entitled Tota Italia: Origins of a Nation , as the flagship project of the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism. Today’s exhibition fully represents the close, in-depth cultural exchanges between the two countries and the profound friendship between the two peoples. I sincerely hope that this exhibition can serve as a witness to the deep-rooted and lasting friendship between China and Italy, offering material evidence of these great times, and can also serve as a bridge for the communication between the people of China and Italy, and in turn, contribute ultimately to the exchange and mutual learnings between civilizations in order to celebrate the common values of all humankind.