Great Success for an Exceptional Edition of Euroflora in Genoa
The curtains closed on the twelfth edition of Euroflora, which took place in the astounding setting of the three public parks and the three figurative arts museums of Nervi in Genoa from 23 April to 8 May. Thanks to the recently gained status of AIPH Category C International Horticultural exhibition, with good reason it can be said that Euroflora is back in the spotlight as one of the most important European events for the promotion of Italian and foreign high profile horticultural produce.
The Visitors and the Exhibitors
Despite the sometimes harsh weather conditions, an estimated 240.000 visitors enjoyed the beauty displayed in the 90 gardens set up by the over 300 participating companies, among which 6 foreign participations (China, Spain, USA, France, the Principality of Monaco and the Netherlands), 3 Italian regional parks and 24 Italian national parks alongside Italian regions and municipalities.
A Theme at Heart: Sustainability and Biodiversity
The fil-rouge of the exhibition was sustainability and biodiversity: and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Rome enthusiastically embraced the theme with its Green City for a Sustainable Future, a garden conceived and designed in collaboration with the well-known Niek Roozen Landscape Studio, portraying the Green City in continuity with the concept underlying the Floriade Expo 2022.
Greening the City
The message of greening our cities, starting from planting more greenery and flowers on our balconies in order to improve the living conditions for all creatures, was well heard and received by the public and jury alike: the 103 highly qualified experts in agronomy, botany landscape design, art and composition, awarded 7 prizes to our Dutch Garden. These include three first prizes for the most beautiful, original and artistic display of plants grown from bulbs, tubers or rhizomes, for the most beautiful collection of bulbous plants, and for the most beautiful collection of tulips; one second prize for the most beautiful and original arrangement of greenery or mixed flowers; two mentions of honour for the quality and variety of flowering species and the prize for the best preserved and best maintained display by the end of the show.
Positive Reactions
And our message urging people to action to green our cities for the sake of sustainability and biodiversity was echoed on social media, on the national and specialized press and on TV, throughout articles, commentaries and interviews. At the end of Euroflora 2022 the Embassy of the Netherlands, together with many other exhibitors, donated all the plants of the Dutch garden to be replanted in public areas in the City of Genoa, as a symbolic gesture in line with our message.
Crunching a Few Numbers: a Beneficial Exchange between Italy and the Netherlands
After the initial negative impact of the pandemic, the horti- and floricultural industry in Italy, which accounts for 5% of the national agricultural GDP with a turnover of 2,8 billion euros, increased by a whopping 33% in the first quarter of 2021, with the Netherlands holding a third place as export market for the 24.000 Italian companies producing ornamental plants (with , a position which is steadily balanced by the place held by the Netherlands as first exporter of floricultural produce in Italy: a healthy and mutually beneficial exchange.
Euroflora 2022 was a great success, and for the Dutch Embassy in Rome a great accomplishment: we hope to be able to rise to the occasion during the next Euroflora edition in 2025. What we can say with certainty is that three years seem like a long time, and that we are definitely looking forward to it!
