Many knew that thousands of people would attend a rally in Milan on April 30 against Milan Expo 2015, but no one imagined that a violent minority composed of about 300 "black bloc" members would use Molotov cocktails, destroying banks, shops and cars. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has immediately condemned the uprising and promised a fast investigation. Milanese citizens and the general Italian public opinion are very angry about the attack and even those who had consistently criticized the Expo's organizing management during the last months now consider this violence absolutely intolerable.

Aside from the riot, the main criticism against Expo among the Italians starts from two different points of view. The first one is practical and concerns the possible cases of corruption among Italian bureaucrats, evidence of which emerged from a recent inquiry. The second point is ideological and refers to the classic no-global stance, according to which every international economic event is the work of evil lobbies or criminal corporations.

If Italy is giving an answer to the first point, having eased the work of the judges who are inspecting the suspected corruption, there is nothing to apologize for in relation to the second point. Several populist leaders and intellectuals are exploiting the mood of social tension across the country by inciting many young people to take to the streets, creating only chaos without any constructive and realistic propositions. The dominant stance among these radical young people is a confused idea of what the Expo really represents for a host country. It's perceived as a "big robbery" and a "squandering of resources" to the detriment of lower classes.

According to the data, Expo 2015 will have three kinds of positive effects. The first-level impact is the direct economic benefits of the event ($2.46 billion) and the investments by the participant countries reaching about $1.40 billion, of which about 82.5 percent will directly benefit Italy.

The second-level impact is mainly produced by the flow of tourism with 20 million expected visitors which will generate about $9.86 billion in value.

The third-level impact, that is the legacy of the event after its conclusion, should determine $2.56 billion from FDIs, $1.19 billion from the new greenfield companies, $1.35 billion from the increase of tourist attraction and $1.22 billion from the enhancement of the real estate assets.

If this forecast is confirmed, the Expo will be not only an influx of oxygen for all Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises and business activities that are suffering from the economic crisis, but also a unique chance for the internationalization of the country. From a more extended point of view, the Expo could be an example of the increasing multipolar development of world economy, able to involve a long list of emerging nations and cultures that are often almost unknown to many Westerners.

In particular this event, which is dedicated to food security and management, can mark a breakthrough in the world politics following the numerous agreements and exchanges of views which will take place in the next six months. Thanks to its geographical position at the heart of the Mediterranean, its huge cultural heritage and its high agri-business potential, Italy is a country where different cultures and traditions can meet, discuss and find new common solutions to urgent global emergencies such as famine, underdevelopment and terrorism.

Supporting rigid forms of protectionism, dogmatically rejecting any kind of market economy, confusing development and corruption or tilting at windmills are just different stances of the same anachronistic view, according to which the West and its problems are still the center of world gravity.

Looking at both Western leftist and rightist opinions, Europe seems to be unable to re-think itself and enter the 21st century. The hope is that Expo 2015 could help people to discover the progress and the abilities reached in the rest of the world and therefore change their approach.