At the Arena di Verona, the greatest toast ever to Italy of Unesco World Heritage Sites broadcasted

When Italy truly acts like Italy in telling its story to the world, celebrating its “great beauty”, both classical and contemporary, a beauty that is created, preserved, and passed down, yesterday as today, through culture, of which opera and Neapolitan song, as well as Italian cuisine accompanied by wine, are symbols, our beloved country prevails. And so it was, to the notes of “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi, when 500 drones rose into the sky above the Arena di Verona to illuminate it with the words “Raise your glasses” and to inaugurate one of the most theatrical and grand toasts ever, involving over 10,000 glasses. And,this, together with stunning sets and costumes which have made Italian theater history, and direction who attended to every detail, was staged last night in prime time live on Rai 1 and across Eurovision with “Champions of the World - Italy Loves Unesco”, the show hosted by Milly Carlucci and Paolo Belli. The event, produced by the Arena di Verona Foundation in collaboration with Rai Cultura and the Ministries of Culture, Agriculture, Tourism, Foreign Affairs, and Sport and Youth, aimed to support the Unesco candidacy of classical Neapolitan song and celebrate Italy world record for the number of Unesco World Heritage sites, even 61, including the art of opera singing and Italian cuisine, officially united for the first time. In the glasses of spectators at the Arena - including 100 Unesco delegates who had arrived from Paris for the occasion - there was one of the symbols of Italy wine culture: Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, produced in the vineyard hills recognized as a Unesco World Heritage Site, the historic heart of the “Prosecco phenomenon” in its many forms. This was the official wine chosen to celebrate “an unprecedented event” never seen on TV before - watched by nearly 2 million viewers with a 14.9% share - marked by a virtual toast reaching even into the homes of Italians, lasting late into the evening, uniting the country through conviviality and sharing, the very values behind Unesco Intangible and Cultural Heritage recognitions of Italian culture.
The live broadcast unfolded across three sets: the Arena di Verona, a global “temple” of opera and a symbol of the Unesco-listed city - also the “capital” of Valpolicella Amarone wines and, for over half a century, of Italian wine thanks to Vinitaly at Veronafiere. Here, tenor Francesco Meli who performed “Tarantella” by Gioacchino Rossini, then Yusif Eyvazov with “Nessun Dorma” by Giacomo Puccini, Vittorio Grigolo with “Una Furtiva Lagrima” and “E Lucevan le Stelle”, Eleonora Buratto with “Vissi d’Amore”, Maria Agresta with “Un Bel Dì Vedremo”, Mihai Damian with “Largo al factotum”, Plácido Domingo with “No puede ser”, the Choir of the Arena di Verona with “Va pensiero”, and Mattia Olivieri and Alessio Arduini with “Già la mensa è preparata”, but also “Priestess of rock” Patti Smith, great lover of Italian opera singing, who exhibited hersellf in a symphonic version of her global hit “Because the night”, written together with Bruce Springsteen. Together with Neapolitan music ambassadors: with Massimo Ranieri who sang “Te Voglio Bene Assaje” at Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Gianni Morandi with “Caruso”, Gigi D’Alessio with “O’ Surdato Innamorato”, Serena Rossi with “Era de maggio”, and Sal Da Vinci who first sang “Tu ca nun chiagne”, and then closed with “Per sempre sì”, the song that crowned him winner of the 2026 Sanremo Festival. During his performance, 300 students from Verona hospitality schools poured Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG into the glasses of spectators. Then, to the music of “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi, performed by Yusif Eyvazov and Martina Russomanno, 500 drones rose into the sky forming the words “Verona and Vinitaly”, followed by “Raise your glasses”, which launched the toast joined by Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi, and Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli. Meanwhile, on another set outside the amphitheatre in Piazza Bra, Paolo Belli acted as a kind of “head chef” throughout the evening, guiding the audience in preparing an “Italian dinner under the sky” for 661 hypothetical guests, symbolizing Italy 61 Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage elements. The evening began with the lighting of the square and the arrival of farmers market stalls, including farmer-chef Diego Scaramuzza, who sows, plants, harvests, and cooks. He emphasized how biodiversity and sustainability underpin the Mediterranean diet, also a Unesco heritage, as does “Italian cuisine”, whose value was highlighted by Maddalena Fossati, editor of the historic magazine La Cucina Italiana and president of the promotional committee for its candidacy. Wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano were opened, followed by the setting of tables by students from Verona dance schools, and the live rolling of handmade pasta dough. But, taking to the Arena stage alongside singers and tenors, there were also Michelin-starred chefs Carlo Cracco, Massimo Bottura, and Giancarlo Perbellini. When asked by Milly Carlucci to describe Unesco-listed Italian cuisine in one word, accompanied most faithfully by wine: Cracco chose “conviviality”, Bottura “sharing” (“Italian cuisine is not a recipe book, but an act of love”), while Perbellini emphasized “variety”, referring to the biodiversity of Italian agrifood production.
Finally, the closing announcement: “Champions of the World – Italy Loves Unesco” will return in Rome in 2027 as a major exhibition dedicated to all of Italy Unesco World Heritage sites.