When I first landed in Detroit in the summer of 2021, I knew I was stepping into a new chapter, but I had no idea just how deeply it would shape me. I was expecting a city that was budding with renaissance, a place of reinvention, resilience, and quiet brilliance. But no one had warned me about its heartbeat-warm, determined, unmistakably human. A heartbeat that, from the very first day, began to sync with mine.
Those early months moved quickly, swept up in the rhythm of events, meetings, and conversations that stretched late into the evening. I wanted the Consulate to be more than an administrative point of reference. I wanted it to feel like a place where Italy breathed, where people could see not only who we are, but who we are becoming. Italy as a country of innovation, sustainability, and vision, not just a tasting of flavors (because of our incredibly celebrated cuisine), but a gathering of stories, memories, and communities rediscovering their roots.
By 2022, the Consulate had found its pace, through a mix of determination, creativity, and a touch of Italian stubbornness. Our team was tiny, but our ambitions were not. At one point there were only three staff members besides myself, and yet we navigated two election cycles, maintained uninterrupted services, and even surpassed pre-pandemic numbers. Behind each passport, each AIRE registration, each civil status update, there was a face, a family, a piece of Italy being re-knitted abroad.
This was also the year we reimagined the Consulate itself. We updated systems, implemented new digital tools, reorganized spaces, and rethought how to reach people who lived hours and sometimes States away. My emergency phone rang at the most improbable times, but even those late-night calls reminded me of the profound trust people place in their Consulate.
And then came LoveITDetroit. Winning the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ bid to name Detroit the City of Italian Creativity in the World transformed a vision into reality: 60 Italian brands, 100 design products, 12 in-person events, and the first public metaverse created by a public administration… we were the first in the world to do this.Thousands visited in person; thousands more logged in virtually. It felt like opening a window and letting the world see Italy’s future: sustainable, elegant, and bold.
But if 2022 laid the groundwork, 2023 was when everything blossomed. Consular services reached new heights: thousands of visas and passports, hundreds of civil status records, and a citizenship task-force that eliminated almost all pre-existing backlogs. LoveITDetroit returned with even more ambition, partnering with Vogue Italia, expanding its metaverse, and producing a calendar of cultural and economic events that made Italy feel present across the Midwest.
Diplomacy extended well beyond conference rooms. We connected Italian companies to Michigan’s booming mobility and clean-tech sectors, created networks of entrepreneurs and innovators, and built partnerships that transcended borders. Communication became a key instrument: newsletters, social media, press stories. Italy appeared on screens, newspapers, and stages in ways that were fresh, modern, and deeply human.
By 2024, our work had reached maturity. We set record numbers: nearly 2,000 passports, over 3,200 visas, more than 2,100 new AIRE registrations … and we finally eliminated the citizenship backlog altogether. The Consulate expanded, both physically and digitally, becoming the efficient, welcoming place we had imagined. Recognition came too. After the Spirit Award, LoveITDetroit earned the Reputation Award 2024, proof that our work had not only been seen but felt, across communities, institutions, and states.
This was also a year of profound personal joy: I welcomed my third child, a little Michigan-born Italian who will forever tie my family to this corner of the United States. His arrival added a layer of warmth to everything I was doing, a reminder that life continues to give even as we serve.
Then came 2025, a year that seemed to weave together all the threads of the previous four.
We celebrated Italian culture in stadiums, theaters, and new cities. The Italian Heritage Night with the Detroit Pistons filled the Little Caesars Arena with tricolors and cheers, an explosion of pride that connected sports and identity. The film Cabrini traveled with us across Detroit, Cleveland, and Ann Arbor, illuminating the story of an Italian woman who changed America. And for the first time ever, the Festa della Repubblica was celebrated in Nashville - a milestone for our growing community there.
It was also the year Italy stepped boldly into the heart of Southern innovation. At 3686 LaunchTN, three Italian startups presented their sustainable mobility solutions before more than 800 investors. I spoke on the “Stamp Your Passport” panel about why Italy is not only a cultural beacon but a strategic gateway for American startups entering Europe. What followed was diplomacy at its best: a pop-up partnership event with universities and economic institutions, high-level meetings with Vanderbilt University and Nissan North America, and immediate outcomes for the Italian teams, from contacts with General Motors to grants and new collaborations.
It was a reminder that diplomacy, when rooted in creativity and human connection, can open doors no map has yet drawn. And as if this final stretch of my mandate wanted to leave me with a last flourish, the past two months brought two events that perfectly captured the soul of our work here: beauty, community, and care.
In Detroit, we brought the genius of Caravaggio to life, not on a museum wall, but on the stage of the Marygrove Theatre. The extraordinary Neapolitan company Teatri 35 transformed canvases into living, breathing tableaux vivants, and we paired this artistic triumph with a Caravaggio-themed dinner curated by Chef Domenico Casagrande Bei. It was an evening where art, cuisine, and storytelling merged. A reminder that Italian culture is not static; it’s alive, generous, and capable of moving a room to silence.
And then came Campus Salute, a project I am deeply proud of. Detroit embraced the Italian model of prevention, well-being, and civic engagement with remarkable enthusiasm. A full weekend of sports, conferences, and, above all, free medical screenings that allowed our community to take charge of its health. More than 200 medical services were provided, each one a small act of care, dignity, and humanity. Seeing American and Italian doctors and volunteers work side by side felt like watching diplomacy in its purest form: hands extended, barriers down, people helping people.
As I look back on these years … the celebrations, the challenges, the late-night phone calls, the standing ovations, the quiet victories … one truth rises above all the others: none of this would have been possible alone. Every project, every idea, every moment that made these years extraordinary was built with people who walked beside me with dedication, creativity, and heart. You know who you are. You were there in the planning meetings and backstage chaos, in the brainstorming sessions that ran far too long, in the problem-solving moments where we laughed so we wouldn’t cry, and in the triumphs that we shared like a family.
To my partners in Detroit, in Lansing, in Nashville, in Toledo. in Cleveland and beyond. To colleagues, collaborators, institutions, volunteers, artists, entrepreneurs. And to our incredible Italian and Italian-American Community. Thank you. You turned visions into reality, obstacles into opportunities, and this journey into one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.
This story is mine, but it is also, profoundly, ours.
So what do I feel above all else? Gratitude.
Detroit gave me a few challenges, yes, but it gave me even more opportunities, friendships, stories, and a deeper understanding of what it means to represent Italy far from home. It gave me colleagues who became family, communities that embraced me, and institutions that believed in our ideas.
I leave Detroit with a heart full of memories and a quiet certainty: that our work here mattered. That bridges were built - cultural, economic, personal - and that they will continue to stand long after I’ve gone. Because a bridge is only as strong as the people that walk across it with you.
Detroit will always be part of my story.
And I will always carry a piece of Detroit with me, wherever I go.
Grazie! And Arrivederci!
Allegra
Your Consul of Italy in Detroit
