The Ambassador made the remarks in a ceremony to inaugurate joint Iran-Italy project for the development of cultural heritage and tourism in Tehran on Monday night.
Pointing to the wide gap between the negative image of Iran created by the international propaganda machine and the reality of Iran in view of being an old country and general public, the ambassador said that tourists could easily realize the reality of Iran when they visit the country and meet its nature, history and most importantly, the character of its people.
Elaborating on the joint project, he said: "This cooperation project has started with the survey of sites in western Iran and you can provide extremely valuable weight to it when it comes to the management of the projects and promotion of the cultural sites."
Perrone said that he was pleased with the welcoming attitude of the Iranian side on launching the joint project and thanked all Iranian organizations involved in the joint project including the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts for their great support.
He said that the Italian mission in Tehran has always been very focused on cultural cooperation, adding that it is because it is aware of the depth of mutual cooperation in the area and also the importance of such interactions between the nations of Iran and Italy as heirs of two ancient civilizations.
Meanwhile, speaking in the ceremony, Giovanna Barni, the President and Business Development Manager at CoopCulture - which is one of the largest cooperative companies in Italy - leads this joint project for Italy, delivered a speech.
She expressed happiness over having the opportunity to visit some of the outstanding Iranian cultural heritage sites and said the visit gave her the chance to become familiar with their history as well as the great general public attitude which accompanies them.
She appreciated the hospitably of the Iranian people as well the sincere job done by Iranian officials in charge of the cultural heritage.
She highlighted the expertise the cultural heritage needs for maintenance taking into account the long history and old age of structures of the historical monuments and the impact of climate change on them, saying that there is an eternal need for protecting, maintenance and safeguarding them by employing new and innovative ways and tools.
She hoped that the present cooperation which is going on in all necessary levels between the two countries would mainly focus on the important point of safeguarding the local communities living by such great cultural heritage sites as well as providing the opportunity to tourists to visit them.
Referring to Italy's valuable experiences and potential in renovating cultural heritage sites, she voiced readiness to share experiences with Iran on specialized technology and know-how for repairing and renovation.
She welcomed the idea of initiating a pilot project in Iran as a prelude to greater cooperation.
In the meantime, Deputy Director of Iran's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Mohammad Hassan Talebian, welcomed the launching of the joint project and said that the two countries have had a successful record of successful cooperation on cultural heritage areas, especially in the past six decades.
Elaborating on the extensive research and scientific cooperation between the cultural heritage bodies and organizations from the two countries, the Iranian official hoped that such joint projects could further help remove certain negative images of Iran created by adversary media and promote the realities of the country which is a highly secure and hospitable to foreign tourists.
Highlighting Iran's esteemed position with such international organizations including the UNESCO and other bodies which are active in the field of cultural heritage, thanks to the skillful Iranian experts, Talebian said that the most outstanding feature of the joint project with Italy is the concerted activity of the local community and the cultural heritage organization in protecting and promoting cultural heritage.
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