Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Italy from 26 to 29 April 2009. Climate change, sustainability and regeneration were the main themes of this visit.

After arriving in Rome on Sunday 26 April 2009, Their Royal Highnesses began their first day of engagements at the Chamber of Deputies on Monday morning.
Here, in the Sala della Lupa, His Royal Highness delivered a speech on climate change to Italian MPs, including the Chamber speaker Gianfranco Fini, and business leaders.
In it, The Prince described climate change as the “greatest threat facing our world” and said: “I believe that the response we make now to the challenge before us will be the single most critical element in defining our era” following up with the warning “it will be the one by which our generation will be judged.”
The Prince spoke of the UK and Italy having a “common purpose to lead the world away from disaster and towards a fair, safe and sustainable future” and cautioned that if we don’t learn to work “in harmony with Nature’s genius” then “genuine sustainability will be an empty, futile chimera and our grandchildren will never, ever forgive us.”

In the afternoon, Their Royal Highnesses attended a Slow Food reception at the British Ambassador’s residence in Rome, Villa Wolkonsky . The Prince and The Duchess were given a taste of Anglo-Italian cuisine,and were offered beef from Highgrove farm, as well as Welsh lamb that had been dry-cured using Italian techniques.  
The Prince of Wales has long been a supporter of the Slow Food Movement , which was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1989.

The Prince of Wales finished his first day's tour with visiting the archaeological site at Palatine Hill and the newly restored frescoes inthe House of Augustus.

On Tuesday morning, 28 April, His Royal Highness joined members of the Italian employers' federation, Confindustria, including Confindustria President Emma Marcegaglia, and representatives of The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change for a round table discussion to share expertise and experiences with regard to the business response to climate change. 

In the meantime, Her Royal Highness presented prizes at the Keats-Shelley House eighteenth annual Poetry Prize for schools, and toured the museum.

Following these engagements, Their Royal Highnesses left Rome for Venice.

Sustainability and regeneration were the themes on which the second part of Their Royal Highnesses' visit to Italy focused.

Immediately after reaching Venice from Rome, The Prince of Wales attended a seminar entitled "Sustainable Cities for a Better Life", held at the Venice Passenger Terminal and aimed at exploring regeneration possibilities around the area. Delegates at the seminar included representatives of the municipal and regional authorities, planners, architects, developers, financiers. On this occasion, His Royal Highness made a speech on the regeneration issue and sustainable cities, in which he discussed the future of Venice:

"I would argue that it is possible to redevelop post-industrial areas such as the Venice lagoon in a way which recalls Venice's reputation as a pinnacle of achievement in building cities, demonstrating the rich variety of expression in the built environment that comes from a place that has evolved over time, with reference to both a living tradition and an openness to learning from cultural and natural influences. This does not mean the creation of some sort of 'historical theme park' characterised by pastiche buildings which simply mimic what has gone before. Rather, I believe that it means identifying the underlying principles of Venice's glories, bringing them into the modern age to blend the best of old and new and using this 'pattern book' to inform what is built in future."

In the same speech, His Royal Highness focused on work carried out by his Foundation for the Built Environment , which, he stated, "tries to improve the quality of people’s lives by teaching and practising timeless and ecological ways of planning, designing and building", and which "is demonstrating that by concentrating on the way settlements have been affected by local conditions and shaped by building traditions and local materials, modern day projects can use that time-tested adaptation to place and climate to meet the challenges of sustainability we face today".

His Royal Highness also warned Italians that Venice was an example of the dangers posed by global warming.

After the seminar, The Prince moved on to view the regeneration of Venice in action at the San Giobbe house project. Here, he visited the house and met its residents.
Instigated by the British charity Venice in Peril Fund , which has contributed to the conservation and restoration of 23 buildings in Venice, the project shows a prototype conservation process which is specific to Venice, which could be used to restore traditional buildings using traditional methods, materials and techniques. With the help and support of the Venice Superintendency, the Venice town council and UNESCO, the dilapidated San Giobbe house, which dated back to the early 1800s, was restored. Restoration work, started in 1997, was completed in 2006.

Meanwhile, The Duchess of Cornwall visited Italy's most significant collection of modern art: the Peggy Guggenheim Collection .

In the evening, The Prince and The Duchess visited Venice's famous La Fenice Opera House to see how it has been faithfully reconstructed following a devastating fire in 1996.
After touring the opera house, Their Royal Highnesses attended a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Italy, Edward Chaplin , where they met representatives of the regional and municipal authorities, of the Venice cultural and business community and of the British community. Following the reception, Their Royal Highnesses enjoyed a performance of Donizetti's opera, Maria Stuarda.

On Wednesday, 29 April, Their Royal Highnesses left Italy to complete their tour by visiting Germany.