Expo '98 opened on 22 May 1998 with 143 countries and 14 international organizations featured in individual pavilions: almost every exhibitor respected the Expo's theme "The Oceans: A Heritage for the Future". There were additional themed pavilions dedicated to Water, Sea Knowledge, Virtual Reality (paid), The Future, Oceans and Oceanophilia; as well as exhibitions: "Leonardo da Vinci@expo98 – La Dinamica dell'Acqua", "Roads of the Porcelain" and "Shells and Man".
