Dear friends,
Welcome to the editorial of the 200th issue of the We the Italians magazine! It is a great pleasure for me to celebrate this incredible milestone. When we first started publishing the magazine, it was actually a weekly publication. The graphics were originally done by William Liani, and then Giovanni Vagnone took over; he still handles the magazine's design today, which you will find completely revamped starting with this issue. I want to thank everyone who has worked on these 200 issues, first and foremost all the authors: there have been 264 of them, an impressive number. 264 friends who had the pleasure, and gave us the honor, of sharing their experience with you across 42 different columns that have alternated over the years: 42 Italian areas of excellence that we have told you about, featuring 2,053 articles about Italy. What other country offers such an incredibly vast reservoir of excellence?
To celebrate our 200th issue, alongside the graphic restyling, we are introducing 4 brand-new columns: Italian Spirits, Italian Sounds, Italian Inventions, and Italian World Records.
Italian Spirits describes the stories, traditions, and regions that gave life to different Italian spirits. From iconic classics to hidden local specialties, this column uncovers Italy’s most beloved liqueurs and aperitifs.
Italian Sounds is about the vibrant auditory soul of Italy. This new column explores traditional folk melodies, fascinating regional dialects, contemporary music hits, and the iconic, rhythmic sounds of authentic Italian daily life.
Italian Inventions is about the stories behind Italy’s most influential inventions and the visionaries who created them, exploring how Italian ingenuity has shaped technology, science, industry, and everyday life around the world.
Italian World Records uncovers the places, achievements, inventions, traditions, and milestones where Italy holds world records. Each story reveals a unique Italian primacy that no other country can match.
This past June 4th, we organized a day dedicated to promoting the historic friendship and solid alliance between Italy and the United States. In the morning, the conference "Two Flags, One Heart. Italia e Stati Uniti nel 2026" featured 14 extraordinary Italian and American speakers across three different panels. They addressed the relationship between Italy and the US from economic, financial, commercial, tourism, entrepreneurial, sports, cultural, and academic perspectives. Here you can find photos and videos of the conference.
The day concluded with our gala dinner, which we are particularly proud of, because this year more than ever it was fundamental to renew, confirm, and bear witness to the friendship that binds Italy and the United States. Here you can find photos and videos of the gala, and here is my welcome speech, which helped convey the message shared by all 250 attendees, to whom I extend my heartfelt thanks.
During the gala, we also announced the results of the survey "America 250: tell us your opinion." We the Italians invited its community of Italian Americans and Italians living in the United States to answer a particularly meaningful question: which of 18 great figures from Italian and Italian American history contributed the most to America’s greatness between 1776 and 2026? Participants were allowed to select up to three names. For this reason, the combined percentages exceed 100%. Francesca Cabrini ranked first with 38.9% of the vote. In second place was Enrico Fermi with 29.5% of the vote. Third place went to Frank Sinatra, selected by 25.3% of respondents. In fourth place was Filippo Mazzei with 24.2% of the vote. Rounding out the top five was Amadeo Giannini with 21.2% of the vote.
Before the gala, I had the honor of participating in two important events, and the organizers made me quite proud to be invited. In Rome, NIAF and the Centro Studi Americani signed a collaboration agreement. While We the Italians played no role in facilitating this agreement, we are friends with both organizations, so it was a real pleasure for me to attend the signing.
Similarly, I take no credit other than being a huge supporter of the project "In Sanguine Foedus. Nuovo Mondo," created by my friends Germana Valentini and Francesco Andoli, which we also promoted this past June 4th during both our morning and evening events. The project unites Naples, where a beautiful first mural has been inaugurated, and New York, where there will be another—connected to the first by a red thread that is both virtual and real, historical and highly contemporary, and deeply moving. It is an extraordinary project, incredibly difficult to pull off, yet Germana and Francesco succeeded. If you’d like to learn more, here is their website, and here is the video of their speech at our gala.
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 from Rome.
