agricultural foodstuffs and offshore.

The latter is due to the discovery of large fields of natural gas along the coast of Ravenna in the fifties and sixties and to the following development of Eni in the fields of chemistry and energy.

Later on the institutional, economic and social features of Ravenna favoured the establishment of new Italian and foreign facilities.

The Province of Ravenna receives benefits deriving from the Structural Funds of the European Union. Large parts of the province are included in Objective 2 which will make special financing available to those investing in this area.

Offshore businesses play an avant-garde role, in fact highly specialised and technologically advanced local companies are known all over the world for their quality standards.

I wish to thank the numerous exhibitors and visitors who, by taking part in this event through the years, have contributed to make it unique in its sector.