Paolo Zanotto was born on November 12, 1991, and completed his studies in Padua, Veneto, where he earned a degree in Law in 2016. Upon entering the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina) in February 2024, he was assigned to the Policy Planning and Analysis Unit, where he also serves as Head of the Historical Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
During the same year, he was posted for one month to the Italian Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania. On January 7, 2026, he assumes the duties of Consul of Italy in Detroit, with jurisdiction over the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. In addition to Italian and English, he speaks German and Portuguese.
This is the arrival message from Consul Zanotto
Dear fellow Italians, It is with great emotion that I extend to you my warm greetings on the day I assume my duties as Consul of Italy in Detroit, with jurisdiction over the states of Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. It is an honor for me to represent, under the guidance of our Embassy in Washington, our beautiful country in an important and dynamic context such as that of the United States, a country with very strong ties to Italy and with great admiration for the Bel Paese and for its extraordinarily rich historical, artistic, cultural, and linguistic heritage.
Fully aware that Italy is not only the custodian of a great tradition but is also a country with a strong entrepreneurial vocation, I intend to carry forward the outstanding work carried out by my predecessors in order to enhance to the fullest our excellence, our great creativity, and the innovation that distinguish us around the world, and to be an important point of reference for the many Italian companies and talents who look with interest to this rapidly growing city and to this area of the United States, whose great potential is often underestimated.
Together with the excellent staff of this Consulate, I intend to provide my very best contribution so that we may continue to be an indispensable point of reference for a constantly growing community, building on the significant expansion of consular services recorded in recent years and addressing together, in the best possible way, some particularly timely issues, such as the recent reform of citizenship.
I also wish to promote at all levels, in collaboration with the Comites and with outstanding partners such as the local Dante Alighieri Society and the N.O.I. Foundation, our language, our culture, and the very rich history of the Italian American community, to which several cultural promotion events will already be dedicated during the course of 2026.
Confident of your support, I promise my own and our utmost commitment to ensuring the highest quality of services and the closest attention to the needs of each and every one of you, and I take this opportunity to extend my best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2026 to you all and to your families.
