A look inside Italy's 'national house' in Tokyo
(SOUNDBITE) (Italian) INTERIOR DESIGNER FOR CASA ITALIA OLYMPIC HOUSE, CLAUDIA PIGNATALE, SAYING:"Welcome to Casa Italia, follow me."
This is where Italy’s Olympic team hangs out
It’s one of Tokyo's ‘national houses’
where athletes can celebrate their medal wins
with teammates, VIPs, and fans during the Olympic Games
It features its own games room
and a restaurant complete with an Italian chef
(SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERIOR DESIGNER FOR CASA ITALIA OLYMPIC HOUSE, CLAUDIA PIGNATALE, SAYING:"We have in Casa Italia a lot of art pieces so everything comes from Italy, Italian artists which are very famous in Italy, we bring with us all of our history and try to combine with the Japan style and the Japan history too."
Casa Italia visitors must be vaccinated and undergo temperature checks
(SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERIOR DESIGNER FOR CASA ITALIA OLYMPIC HOUSE, CLAUDIA PIGNATALE, ASKED IF THE ATMOSPHERE IS LESS FESTIVE DUE TO COVID, SAYING:"… but it's normal that there's a few people, not a lot of people but we have also the ICO (Italian National Olympic Committee) members, the president of Italian federal sports and everything, but it's a bit less festive, but it's important to be here now to send a message that we can go on."
