(ANSA) - Berlin, March 23 - Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said Monday that Milan Expo 2015 will be ready for its official opening on May 1.
    "Work has been going on 24 hours a day for some time, but it will be ready by May 1," Franceschini said during meetings at the Italian embassy in Berlin.
    "It is a characteristic of Italians to amass delays but then recover and be ready at the end," he added.
    The six-month long world's fair is expected to draw more than 20 million visitors to Milan.
    Expo will host a record 53 single-nation pavilions, along with nine clusters representing about 90 countries and theme-based pavilions.
    Almost all external structures of the national pavilions have been completed while work is ongoing on interiors as workmen put the final touches on collective pavilions, organizers say.