Italy has been involved in Expos since the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, and hosted its first World Expo in Milan in 1906. As an active participant and organiser of Expos, Italy was one of the 31 countries that signed the Paris Convention of 1928 that created the BIE.

Since then, Italy has participated in most Expos and has hosted five Specialised Expos - Expo 1953 Rome, Expo 1954 Naples, Expo 1955 Turin, Expo 1961 Turin, and Expo 1992 Genoa – as well as World Expo 2015 in Milan. Since 1933, Italy has also organised 15 editions of the Triennale di Milano under the auspices of the BIE.