San Francisco, August 31, 2012 - Italy will have a new Consul General in San Francisco starting on September 4th, when Mauro Battocchi, 45, takes office at 2590 Webster Street. Battocchi is back on the diplomatic track after four years at a multinational power company, Enel, as head of governmental affairs. "Italy is a world leader in renewable energies and smart-grid technologies," he said in Rome before departing for San Francisco. "I am committed to showing Italy's advancement in sustainability and technology to our San Franciscan and North-Western friends," he added. Previously, he supported the international expansion of Italian firms at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also the head of the economic section of the Italian Embassy in Tel-Aviv (1999-2002) and served at the financial section of the Italian Embassy in Bonn (1995-1999), taking part in the negotiations for the beginning of the European Monetary Union. Mr. Battocchi graduated in economics at Bocconi University, Milan, and received a Master's degree in public policy at Princeton University. Born in the Alpine region of Trentino, he would welcome suggestions for the best hiking and skiing spots in the San Francisco area.

On Tuesday September 4, Mr. Battocchi will inaugurate a new Italian institution in town: la nuova scuola internazionale di San Francisco (www.iissf.com/about-us). This is an evolutionary step of the Piccola Scuola Italiana that brought the Reggio-Children model of preschooling to the Bay. Out of its success, it is now offering also elementary schooling. This is modern Italian culture at its best, deep humanistic tradition embedded in modern education methods.