When in China, Romans play like the Chinese

Italy's 2010 Expo pavilion resembles both the Chinese game of pick-up sticks and a small Italian city, depending on your perspective.

From a bird's-eye perspective, the structure spills a tangle of intersecting lines in mimicry of the game that has competitors remove sticks from a pile without causing its collapse. From ground level, it replicates an Italian city set on a 7,800-sq-m plot of land.

Under the banner "Man of City", the pavilion will comprise 20 sections representing various Italian regions. Shanghai elements will also be incorporated.