Taiwan at MULTI Roma 2026: Connecting Cultures Through Food, Literature, Art, and Shared Memories
From September 24 to 27, 2026, Rome’s annual international multicultural festival, MULTI – Le culture e le cotture che ci uniscono (Connecting Our Cultures and Cuisines), was held in the gardens of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Centered on the theme of the “multicultural city,” the festival showcased Rome’s rich cultural diversity through food, literature, art, and cultural exchange. The Taiwanese curatorial team and TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia participated jointly, using Yang Shuang-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue as the central theme for promoting Taiwanese culture. Through travel, cuisine, and historical memory, the team presented the diverse and authentic cultural landscape of Taiwan to Italian audiences.
Presenting Taiwan’s Diversity Through a Photography Exhibition
From September 24 to 27, the Taiwanese photography exhibition, “Taiwan: Memorie di un’isola in movimento” (Taiwan: Memories of an Island in Motion), was displayed in the festival’s outdoor exhibition area. Three months before the event, the curatorial team launched an open call for photographs, inviting both Taiwanese people and international friends to contribute their work. The exhibition presented Taiwan through three main themes: “Taiwan’s Landscapes,” “Everyday Life,” and “Festivals and Celebrations.”
The photographs were displayed near the festival entrance, the main stage, and the lecture area, attracting visitors of different nationalities who stopped to admire the images. Through these photographs, Taiwan’s natural scenery, everyday culture, and festive traditions entered the field of vision of Rome’s citizens.
Discovering Taiwanese Culture Through a Cup of Tea and a Bowl of Rice
On September 25, TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia introduced Taiwanese tea culture and cuisine, helping visitors discover traditional herbal tea, winter melon tea, Sun Moon Lake black tea, and honey-aroma black tea made from oolong tea leaves. The experience was accompanied by Taiwanese folk songs, including “Nong Cun Qu” (Rural Melody), “Diudiu Tong Zai,” and “Wang Chun Feng” (Longing for the Spring Breeze), creating an atmosphere rich in Taiwanese character and cultural exchange. The instructor also taught the audience relevant Mandarin vocabulary, allowing participants to engage naturally with the language while enjoying the tea.
The food stall offered Taiwanese braised pork rice, a vegetarian version of braised pork rice, and bubble tea, allowing local Roman residents and international visitors to sample Taiwanese flavors. Taiwanese community members and students studying abroad came all the way from Perugia to lend their support, joining forces with the local team to promote Taiwanese culture and demonstrating the solidarity of the Taiwanese community overseas.
From Open Day to Mooncake Making: Bringing Taiwan and TCML into the Spotlight
On September 26, TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia brought its Open Day to the MULTI Roma festival. Teacher Tang first introduced the teaching philosophy of the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning, its Mandarin courses, and Taiwanese culture. The presentation helped more Italians become acquainted with TCML and understand that learning Mandarin is not merely a form of language education, but also an important way to discover Taiwan and engage with different cultures.
The subsequent mooncake-making activity transformed cultural introduction into hands-on experience. Originally planned primarily as a demonstration, the activity was expanded on the spot to include a practical session following suggestions from Teacher Tang and parents. Children were given the opportunity to make mooncakes themselves and take the partially prepared products home to bake.
From learning about TCML and discovering Taiwan to experiencing Taiwanese festive cuisine firsthand, participants came closer to Taiwanese culture in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.
This Open Day, held beyond the classroom, not only expanded TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia’s opportunities to reach prospective students, but also showcased the distinctive combination of Mandarin teaching and cultural experiences. It allowed more people to appreciate the richness of Taiwanese culture and the diverse value of Mandarin-language education overseas.
Using Mandarin as a Bridge to Keep Taiwan’s Stories Alive
Participation in MULTI Roma was more than a presentation of Taiwanese food and culture. It was also an opportunity for TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia to extend Mandarin teaching into a public cultural setting. Through photography, tea culture, folk songs, cuisine, and hands-on activities, Mandarin became more than a language taught in the classroom. It served as a bridge through which people could discover Taiwan, overcome cultural barriers, and build connections.
Following the path of Taiwan Travelogue, the team began with travel and everyday life to present Taiwan’s layered historical memories and cultural diversity. Through this event, the team hoped to introduce Taiwan to more Italian audiences and help them learn about TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia. The aim was to make learning Mandarin a starting point for exploring Taiwanese culture and to ensure that Taiwan’s stories continue to be shared in Rome.
Following Taiwan Travelogue: Exploring Land, History, and Belonging Through Personal Stories
At 5 p.m. on September 27, the Taiwanese team held a major panel discussion on the main stage at MULTI Roma entitled “Identità e appartenenza: la terra, i legami e il tempo” (Identity and Belonging: Land, Connections, and Time).
Continuing the approach of Taiwan Travelogue, which explores the land through “travel” and reveals history through personal memories, the discussion drew on two distinct family histories to share Taiwan’s history, social transformation, democratic development, and the emotional bonds that connect people to this land with Italian and international audiences.
The discussion was introduced by Guido Gargiulo of Osservatorio Esteri Taiwan. The two Taiwanese diaspora speakers represented different family histories. One speaker’s family memories could be traced back more than 300 years, to migration to Taiwan during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. The other was a third-generation descendant of a family that came to Taiwan after World War II. These two different historical starting points converged on the island of Taiwan, shaping distinct personal perspectives on the development of Taiwanese society and its democratic journey.
Drawing on their own experiences growing up in Taiwan, the speakers shared what they had heard, witnessed, and personally experienced as society changed. Their stories touched on the integration of people from different ethnic groups and family backgrounds within Taiwanese society, as well as Taiwan’s gradual transition toward democracy.
One particularly thought-provoking aspect was that, despite their different backgrounds and differing perspectives on Taiwan’s history and democratic development, both speakers found themselves reconsidering their identities, memories, and relationships with Taiwan after embarking on their journeys abroad. Distance gave them a renewed perspective on their connections to Taiwan and a clearer sense of their emotional attachment to the land: Taiwan is our shared home.
Professor Stefano Pelaggi of Sapienza University of Rome then placed the speakers’ personal experiences within Taiwan’s broader historical context, analyzing and comparing their accounts from the perspective of historical research. By connecting early migration, social changes across different historical periods, postwar society, and democratic development with individual life stories, he helped Italian audience members gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan through the experiences of its people.
This panel was also an extension of the spirit of Taiwan Travelogue: “Travel is not merely about passing through a place; it is also about rediscovering the land, our memories, and where we come from.”
The speakers’ experiences of looking back on Taiwan from overseas transformed Taiwanese history from a series of dates and events in textbooks into stories of real human lives.
Through this dialogue across languages, cultures, and life experiences, the team hoped to help Italian and international audiences do more than simply “get to know Taiwan.” By understanding Taiwan through personal stories, they could gain a deeper appreciation of how people from different historical backgrounds live and grow together on the same land, developing a shared emotional connection to their home.
It is also worth noting that promotion and advertising on Facebook and Instagram helped attract a group of Italian and international friends who had various connections to Taiwan. Some had studied in Taiwan, others had worked there, and some students who were preparing to travel to Taiwan in December came specifically to seek information about relevant courses and other groups they could join.
At the event, these visitors proactively approached the Taiwanese team and TCML-Associazione Culturale Taiwanesi in Italia to exchange experiences and share their expectations regarding Taiwan. Their participation revealed the extensive network of friendships that Taiwan has built overseas.
For those who wished to continue learning about Taiwan and maintaining their connections with it, the team provided assistance in connecting them with the Taiwan Alumni Association and other relevant organizations according to their individual needs. This helped extend one-time encounters into ongoing relationships.
Through these connections, TCML served not only as a platform for Mandarin learning and cultural experiences, but also as a point of contact linking Italian friends, Taiwan alumni, and Taiwan-related communities. In this way, more people who have visited Taiwan or are preparing to discover it can continue to care about Taiwan, learn about its culture, and maintain meaningful connections with the island.
