Dear friends, once again there are many things we at We the Italians are working on. Whether alone or in partnership with some friends, we are happy to continue promoting the friendship between Italy and the United States and the significant contribution of Italian Americans to the relationship between our countries.
We begin with an event that will take place from September 19 to 21 in Chicago: the first reunion of We the Italians Ambassadors in the United States. Thanks to our Ambassador in Illinois, the tireless Ron Onesti, we are preparing an event that will allow our Ambassadors to get to know each other better, share projects and interests, and learn about the extraordinary Italian American community in the Windy City.
The weekend before, we will be among the partners of another important event, which will take place in Italy, in Vicenza: the first ITALIA-AMERICA Friendship Festival. The ITALIA-AMERICA Friendship Festival aims to celebrate and strengthen the bond between the two countries, highlighting their mutual influence on each other’s cultures. Among the partners in the city of Vicenza are NIAF, the U.S. Consulate General in Milan, the Vicentini nel Mondo association, and of course, everything is also in collaboration with the United States Army Garrison Italy, based in Vicenza, the Italian city with the highest number of American residents.
Speaking of Chicago, you all know that here in Rome, the American Robert Francis Prevost was elected the new Pope, taking the name Leo XIV. Prevost was born in Chicago and has Italian and Italian American roots from both his father’s side (in Chicago) and his mother’s side (in New Orleans). Read here our article to learn more.
From Illinois, we move to New York: it’s here that, together with our friends at Zwan, we have registered a new 501(c)(3) organization. It’s called the Italia America Reputation Lab, and it will be the tool that allows us to develop projects thanks to the characteristics of American non-profits. From today, the IARL (Italia America Reputation Lab) is active, and you can find more information here.
The new world of relations between Italy and the United States has led us to start a new activity: listening, exploring, and better understanding the interests, opinions, and needs of the Italian American community. The first topic we’ve asked for your opinion on is dual citizenship, specifically the changes affecting the process for applying for Italian citizenship. We will present the results of this activity, and others to follow, to the Italian authorities. Please share your opinion by participating in our survey here. We will randomly select 10 participants and give them a copy of the 2024 Yearbook of We the Italians.
We are proud of the numbers that are increasingly supporting us on our Facebook page, with significant growth. In the last month, we reached 5.5 million views. Thanks to all of you, and if you haven’t yet, please make sure to like our page here.
There is also a new column in our magazine. Starting this month, the Managing Director of We the Italians, Fabrizio Fasani, will discuss the Italian economy, covering developments and issues, opportunities, and the need for change.
The We the Italians family continues to grow wonderfully, and today I am particularly delighted to welcome three new Ambassadors.
Dario Gagliano is our new Ambassador in Springfield, Massachusetts. Dario was born in Catania, Italy but grew up in Connecticut. He was raised with a passion for the Italian language and culture. He graduated from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a master's in International and Area Studies. He is a founding member and current Vice President of the St Padre Pio lodge #3013 of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America in Springfield, MA and one of the leaders of the Future of the Order Forum - FOTO - which aims to engage young Italian Americans witht heir heritage.
Melissa Marinaro is our new Ambassador in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Melissa is the Director of the Italian American Program at the Senator John Heinz History Center where they oversee the institution’s Italian American Collection and manage the Italian American Program’s educational programming and community outreach. Melissa has cultivated significant artifact and archival collections related to post-war Italian immigration to Western Pennsylvania and Italian American folk traditions. They are the author of Highlights from the Italian American Collection: Western Pennsylvania Stories. Melissa co-directs the Italian Diaspora Archives Resource Map (IDARM) Project, an initiative involving archivists, academics and museum professional to identify and make visible the network of repositories documenting the Italian Diaspora in the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia region.
Lorenzo Agnoloni is our new Ambassador in Tampa, Florida. Lorenzo is the owner and founder of the Studio Legale Notarile Agnoloni – International Law-Notary Firm. His practice concentrates upon international taxation and contracts, business transactions and arbitration, civil, commercial and administrative litigation and immigration law and related matters. Lorenzo is an accredited notary public for the State of Florida and has an office in Tampa.
Let me remember you about “We the ItaliaNews: Italy in english,” and “We the ItaliaNews: L'Italia in America". The former talks about what is happening in Italy, and is in English language, with a new episode out every Monday; the latter talks about what is happening in the Italian Italian American communities in the United States, and it is in Italian language, with a new episode out every Thursday. You can find them both here. Two podcasts, Two languages, Two flags, One heart.
If you like what we do, let me remember you to please subscribe to We the Italians, here. Every month we give you 50 news excusive for our subscribers, at the cost of one single espresso, one for month. You can subscribe on our Facebook page. Besides, as already announced, the eleventh book, the ninth annual yearbook, is available for you: twelve interviews from 2024 on twelve different topics that have in common Italy and the United States. On this page, you will find a preview and the link to purchase it.
Let me also remember you that soon we will have a new version of our new website, with a huge news: the areas we divided the US into will be reduced to six due to three consolidations. The areas New England, New York, and East will remain the same; South and South East will merge into one area called South; Great Lakes and Midwest will merge into one area called Midwest; West and California will merge into one area called West.
The new areas, along with their respective states, will therefore be as follows: 1) New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island). 2) New York (New York State). 3) East (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, West Virginia). 4) South (North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico). 5) Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado). 6) West (Alaska, Hawaii, Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California).
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.
