Dear friends,
As we do every October, we were delighted to return to the East Coast for the National Italian American Foundation gala and for a series of meetings in both Washington, D.C., and New York. This year’s NIAF gala was a tremendous success, with 2,300 attendees celebrating the Foundation’s 50th anniversary. We the Italians proudly joins the ongoing celebrations and extends heartfelt thanks to NIAF for these first 50 years of friendship between Italy and the United States. We were also pleased to take part once again in the Transatlantic Investment Committee meeting and in the reception hosted by Italy’s new Ambassador to Washington, D.C., Marco Peronaci, to whom we introduced who we are and what we do at We the Italians.
In New York, it was a real pleasure to record three episodes of the Italian-language version of the Italian American Podcast. Our friends John Viola and Patrick O'Boyle invited me and several fellow journalists to share with Italian-speaking listeners why we are so enthusiastic about the Italian American community, and why people in Italy should be, too. We’ll keep you posted on when these episodes will be available in both audio and video. In the meantime, a warm greeting and big hug to the team who joined me in this great project: Viviana Altieri, Davide Ippolito, Michele “Micky” Disabato and Germana Valentini. We had a blast, and it felt like we’d been doing this together all our lives! And above all, Italians do it better!
The second survey conducted by We the Italians together with the Italia America Reputation Lab delivered a striking result: 90.4% of respondents want Columbus Day to remain a federal holiday in the United States. You’ll find all the details here. Thanks to everyone who took part: these surveys will resume in 2026.
But there’s another initiative where we’re asking for your input. Once again this year, We the Italians is inviting you, our readers, to nominate the Italian American of the Year. This tradition began in 2022, with previous winners being Stanley Tucci (2022), Lady Gaga (2023), and Sylvester Stallone (2024). These three outstanding Italian Americans are therefore not eligible for votes this year. This time, you’ll be able to choose from 10 nominees, selected from suggestions made by our 60 Ambassadors across the United States. You may vote for more than one candidate if you’d like. Please vote here.
On November 18, 2015 - ten years ago - three Italians deeply in love with the United States met in a notary’s office in Rome to officially establish a company and to formally launch a project that had begun a few years earlier. Those three Italians were Umberto Mucci, Edoardo Colombo, and Nicola Paglietti, and that company was, and still is, We the Italians. Those who know me know that I’m never fully satisfied, and indeed I wish We the Italians had accomplished even way more in its first ten years. But I am surrounded by the affection and esteem of many friends, readers, and followers who continue to congratulate us - praise that I share with the entire We the Italians team, especially my two partners Edoardo and Nicola and with our General Manager Fabrizio Fasani. What I can promise is that we will continue working with even more enthusiasm so that by our twentieth anniversary, we will have preserved that same esteem and affection, hopefully more. And I’m sure I still won’t be completely satisfied then, either. In the meantime, happy birthday to us! Two flags, One heart, Ten years.
Another important anniversary featured our Ambassador to Emigration, Delfina Licata, who presented the 20th edition of the Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo, produced as always by the Migrantes Foundation under her supervision. For twenty years, the Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo has documented Italian emigration around the world with exceptional expertise and thoroughness, and it has become globally recognized as an indispensable resource. Credit goes to everyone involved in its creation, but allow me to emphasize that without Delfina Licata, everything would be far more difficult and far less effective. Kudos to my dear friend, and happy anniversary to the RIM as well! Here you can find an article describing the 2025 report.
As we do every year-end, we’re working on the Yearbook featuring this year’s interviews - which will also make a wonderful Christmas gift for anyone interested. But 2025 brings an exciting new development. The Yearbook with the 12 interviews from 2025 won’t be the only We the Italians publication this year. We’re preparing a surprise that will become our second annual book from now on… I don’t want to reveal too much just yet, but let’s just say I’ll leave you with three key words: “Italian good news.” Stay tuned!
This month, our magazine is launching two new columns, and we’re particularly proud of both.
The first, produced by our Editorial Staff, will introduce our readers each month to a different Italian Industrial District. The typical Italian industrial district is a geographically identifiable area where numerous companies in a specific industrial sector are concentrated, with a unique link between the territory and its industrial output. Although production structures vary from one district to another, most companies operate in highly specialized segments and handle a limited number of tasks, often tied to a specific stage of the production process. This creates a specialized division of labor among the businesses involved, so that only a few companies internalize more than one phase of production.
The second column is curated by Matteo Cerri and is titled My Life in Italy. It will spotlight the stories of Italian Americans who invest in Italy and, in some cases, choose to move there - buying and restoring properties, transforming their lives, and reconnecting with their roots. Matteo is an international entrepreneur, investor, and publisher with nearly 30 years of experience connecting the Italian diaspora, global mobility, and the revitalization of small Italian towns. He has published extensively in both Italian and English and lectures on urban-rural renewal and new territorial models. Editor-in-Chief of Nomag, ITS Journal, and Smart Working Magazine, he also co-founded ITS Italy, delivering more than 140 regeneration projects in over 20 villages. Born in Milan, he has lived between London, Europe, the United States, and Italy’s small towns.
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.
