by Claudio Bisogniero

The Year of Italian Culture in the United States was an extraordinary act of public diplomacy. A show of pride that was deeply felt, especially in a time of crisis like the present.

Fellow Italians in the United States, the myriad of American admirers of our country -- among them twenty-six million Italian Americans -- companies, associations and institutions that worked tirelessly every day to promote the "Italian brand" and even the press, which devoted hundreds of positive articles to our initiative -- all felt the strong desire to rediscover the charm of Italy's past, to reveal the best of its present, and to highlight examples of how it is working toward the future. All this to create new opportunities for the citizens of both countries.

Read more

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/