Dear friends,
For We the Italians, a year full of projects, content, friendship, and great curiosity about a world of relationships between Italy and the United States – which, however one sees it, is evolving – is coming to an end. And in this evolution, we at We the Italians believe that the Italian American community plays an even more important role than before. We produced an audio and visual podcast dedicated to the 2025 of We the Italians. You can find the English versions here and the Italian ones here.
A few numbers from our 2025, written while there are still fifteen days left in the year. During this year, we promoted 6,056 news stories on our website (2,302 of which were positive about Italy, the others about something Italian in the United States); 249 articles in the 12 issues of our magazine; and one yearbook (with the 2024 interviews) in both print and digital formats. Also, during 2025 we sent out 1,121,694 newsletters: 12 months, 9 areas through September and then 6 areas from October, with many of you subscribing to more than one. We are almost at 87,000 followers on our Facebook page, where we had 32.4 million views (last year we stopped at 8 million...). We have a LinkedIn group with almost 2,000 members (we are waiting for you, join us) and also a LinkedIn page. We are also on X (almost 2,500 followers), Instagram (7,200 followers), YouTube (630 subscribers to our channel), TikTok, Spotify, and Telegram. Last but not least, we now have 60 Ambassadors in the United States. They are friends, a team, a family: you can find who and where they are here.
For We the Italians, the big news of 2025, from an editorial point of view, has been the return of podcasts, in both audio and visual versions. We transformed our podcast We the ItaliaNews into two new weekly audio podcasts: Italy in English, dedicated to what is happening in Italy and in English; L’Italia in America, the first and only Italian-language podcast about what is happening in Italian and Italian American communities in the US. The audio podcasts of Italy in English can all be listened to here; the audio podcasts of L’Italia in America can all be listened to here. In addition, here you will find all the visual versions of each podcast episode.
Once again this year, We the Italians has asked its readers to choose the Italian American of the Year. This tradition began in 2022, with previous winners being Stanley Tucci (2022), Lady Gaga (2023), and Sylvester Stallone (2024). These three outstanding Italian Americans were therefore not be eligible for votes this year. This time, we gave our readers the chance to choose from 10 nominees, selected from suggestions made by our 60 Ambassadors across the United States. This is the final ranking for 2025, from number 10 up to number one: 10) George Bochetto; 9) Gay Talese;8) Ray Mancini; 7) Chazz Palminteri; 6) Nonnas cast; 5) Rosa DeLauro; 4) Mike Johnson; 3) Caitlin Clark 13.9%; 2) Martin Scorsese 21.2%; 1) Adriana Trigiani 32.7%. Almost one in three, among those who participated in our survey, voted for Adriana, who is a great friend of We the Italians and wanted to thank everyone for this result with a beautiful video that you can find here. Congratulations to Adriana!
The We the Italians Yearbook 2025, our twelfth book, is available. Please consider it as a Christmas gift, either for yourself or for your friends and family. You can find it on Amazon here. In 2025, we interviewed 14 people, friends of We the Italians who gave us 12 different views on 12 different topics regarding the relationship between Italy and the United States. These are the topics you will find in this yearbook: the Arizona Italian American Chamber of Commerce; development opportunities in the US for Italian companies; the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles; anti-Italianism, stereotypes, and cancel culture; the 50th anniversary of the National Italian American Foundation; the Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo; Italians in the US “Prisoners in Paradise” during World War II; Growing Up Italian, a modern voice for a timeless Italian American community; the documentary The Neighborhood: The North End becomes Columbus Park in Kansas City; the 70th birthday of the American presence in Vicenza, the United States standing in defense of Italy; Super Mario Turns 40, how an Italian American plumber became a global icon; 200 Years of Italian Studies at Columbia University in New York.
The end of this 2025 has brought back to Italy one of the most capable, efficient, knowledgeable, and productive consuls Italy has ever sent to the United States: Allegra Baistrocchi was the Italian Consul in Detroit for four years, and she is now ready to give her wonderful contribution once again here in Rome, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will never stop thanking her for the extraordinary way she represented Italy in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, but we will stay in touch with her here in Italy as well. We suggest that you read her farewell message to the communities of the above-mentioned states, which she honored us by allowing us to publish on We the Italians. Thank you, Allegra!
Also this December, we are pleased to welcome three Ambassadors, three new friends joining our team.
Joe Rocco is our new Ambassador in Rhode Island. Joe is President of RocJo Productions, Inc., a television and video production company, and President of the Rhode Island Italian American Hall of Fame. The RIIAHF’s mission is to provide financial support to extraordinary students going to college, honor prominent Italian Americans and promote its rich Italian heritage. Joe is a two-time New England Emmy award winner as a television reporter, director and executive producer. Joe and his team have produced high profile events honoring Tom Brady, Aretha Franklin, Jay Leno, Mario Andretti, Joe Montana and many more.
Daniela Cunico Dal Pra is our new Ambassador in North Carolina. Daniela is a Professor in Italian Language, Culture, and Film at UNC Charlotte, with over two decades of service to the university and the Charlotte community enriching students' education by teaching Italian and Latin and Film Studies, and currently serves as the Interim Director of Film Studies. Her dedication extends through extensive community outreach, organizing cultural events, lectures, and film screenings, and serving as an executive director for the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of the Carolinas. Daniela actively promotes Italian culture, global connections, and sustainability.
Claudio Tanca is our new Ambassador in Washington DC. Claudio is Marketing & Events Coordinator at the Italian Cultural Society of Washington, DC, where he promotes Italian language and culture in the nation's capital. A dual US-Italian citizen, Claudio has spent 15+ years leading international communications for global health and social impact organizations, including serving as Executive Director of the G4 Alliance and International Communications Director at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Fluent in English, French, and Italian, he has lived and worked across Europe and the United States. Claudio is passionate about strengthening connections between Italian and American communities through culture, dialogue, and shared values.
And it doesn’t stop here! That’s why we ask you to subscribe to We the Italians.
It’s all for now. Please stay safe and take care, and enjoy our magazine and our contents on our website. Stay safe and take care: the future’s so bright, we gotta wear tricolor shades! A big Italian hug, Merry Christmas and a gorgeous Italian happy 2026 from Rome.
