Ciao from Rome! Autumn is here, and things are getting better in Italy. We’re not out of the woods yet, but things are improving, and we’re confident the worse is behind us.

One of the things that had been interrupted with the pandemic was participating in live, in-person events. Finally, this activity has begun again, and so I was happy to restart representing the Italian American community here in Italy at two events. Last Columbus Day, I participated in a television broadcast together with two members of the Italian Parliament who spoke in defense of Columbus, Federico Mollicone and Massimo Ungaro. Connecting from New York, marching on the Columbus Day Parade on the 5^th Avenue, was another member of the Italian Parliament, Fucsia Nissoli, who is the first signatory of the motion in favor of Columbus passed by the Italian Parliament this summer. Last but not least, we also had with us, speaking in videocall from Chicago, NIAF President Robert Allegrini.

A few days earlier, in September, it was exciting for me to travel again for work and to go to Casalmaggiore, in Lombardy, right there where in March 2020 the covid began its terrible journey, to bring the greetings of the President of the Italian American Museum of New York Joseph Scelsa and to take part in the opening of the exhibition "Dolce color d’oriental zaffiro. Le gemme in Dante e nei bijoux americani" (Dolce color d'oriental zaffiro. Gems in Dante and in American bijoux) which I told you about last month. In this October's magazine you will find my preface to the catalog of this marvelous exhibition on a very important aspect of the migratory experience of Italians in America.

Speaking of television broadcasting, We the Italians has signed an important agreement with Cibor TV, the best Box currently on the market to watch Italian TV in streaming from all over North America, with a discount dedicated to you We the Italians readers. Cibor TV is a real full immersion in the Italian language. With over 500 national and regional channels, a large section with films all in Italian, all Italian FM radios and the TV guide adjusted with your time zone, it will allow you to continue hearing the Italian language, in order to keep fit and never forget it, and to know what happens in Italy. And if you are an Italian football addicted, in CIBORTV® you will watch all the championship, the Italian cup and the Serie C playoffs with historic teams such as Palermo, Catania, Foggia, Bari, Juventus U23, Avellino, Pescara, Catanzaro, Taranto, Potenza, included Juve Stabia and 48 other teams! Only for our loyal readers, we managed to snatch a maxi discount of USD 70.00 valid until October 31st! Just go to https://cibortv.com/we-the-italians, click on the product that costs USD 149.99 and apply the discount code at checkout: WTI2022 to receive a discount of almost 50% on Cibor TV Box with 3 months of full viewing included. And if you already are a Cibor TV customer or you want to buy license renewals right away, you can apply the WTIRENEWAL discount code to receive a 10% discount on each renewal month. Remember that this promotion ends on October 31, 2021 at 11:59 pm.

There is an important change in our team, among the wonderful authors of the articles you read every month in our magazine. We the Italians wants to thank very much Paola Lovisetti Scamihorn who has been in charge of the Italian Cuisine column for years: we wish all the best to Paola, a wonderful person, a talented chef and a personal friend of mine. So it is also for Ale Gambini, who starts this month delighting our palate with her recipes of Italian cuisine. Alessandra “Ale” Gambini is a LA-based Italian food writer, cookbook author, recipe developer, host chef in web series, Italian food advocate, cooking instructor, IICCT chocolate taster and WACS Accredited Tea Master. Born and raised in Milan, she learned how to cook and love good food from her beloved grandmother Nonna Fernanda. Her web cooking series “A World Of Sweets”, “Baking Bread” and “A Queen In the Kitchen” are the Award Recipient(s) of the prestigious “The Taste Awards” in Hollywood. Her last book is “No Ketchup on Spaghetti” (The complete guide on how to shop, eat, and cook like an Italian).

Another important new member of our team is our Ambassador in the State of Washington: we now have Ambassadors in 36 American states and 14 Italian regions. Randy Aliment is our Ambassador in Washington, the Evergreen State. Randy is a second generation Italian American of Piemontese decent. He is partner in the Seattle office of Lewis Brisbois and serves as General Counsel for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Randy has a practice focused on the higher education, sports industries and international law. He has extensive experience representing foreign clients in US litigation. In 2012, he served as Chair of the 25,000-member Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. In 2013, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Union Internationale des Avocats headquartered in Paris, France. He is a Foreign Consultant to Duan & Duan, the first privately licensed Chinese law firm.

Let me remember you once again the save the date of the gala of the Italian American Sport Foundation, of which We the Italians is media partner for the gala and with which some really interesting ideas are being born to properly promote Italian sport in the United States. We have been talking about it together for months and the sporting successes of this summer convince us that it is something urgent, necessary and successful. Stay tuned, the November 4^th gala in New York is just the beginning.

Please, check our virtual store. Now you can find more than 20 products in different colors: t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, onesies, mugs, notebooks, pillows, totes, tapestries, pins, laptop and smartphone cases, magnets, stickers, masks. Buy We the Italians!

Well my friends, once again it’s all for now. Please stay safe, please stay healthy. I won’t gonna stop saying this: the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades! Ciao from Rome