Egypt's Head of the National Organization for Urban Harmony (NOUH) Mohamed Abu Saada and the Italian Ambassador to Cairo Giampaolo Cantini have inaugurated an exhibition of creations by Italian architects in Egypt. The exhibition aims to celebrate World Heritage Day, and will run until 28 April at the Al Hanager Art Center at the Cairo Opera House. Abu Saada said that the idea of the exhibition comes due to the clear impact and influence Italian architects had on Egyptian urbanism. Urbanism in Egypt reflected the extent to which the Egyptian culture was affected by Italian culture and their merging with each other, he said. He added that Italian architects have clearly influenced the structure of palaces in the country, including the Al-Montaza and Ras El-Teen Palaces in Alexandria which were designed by the architect Ernesto Verrucci. He asserted that Italian architects also had a clear impact on the most important mosques in Egyptian history, such as the Omar Makram Mosque in Cairo and the Abu Al-Abbas Al-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria. Abu Saada pointed out that Italian architects were influenced by Islamic and Mamluk architecture, resulting in the combination of a distinct and unique architectural character for these mosques. He affirmed that there are many distinguished buildings in Egypt built by Italian architects, all of which have been documented by the NOUH during this exhibition
