Dear friends, 2023 has begun with lots of exciting and wonderful news! First, the new yearbook of We the Italians is available, with the 23 interviews (in Italian and English) published during 2022. You can find a preview and buy a copy here.

In 2022 we interviewed 26 people, friends of We the Italians, who gave us 23 different points of view on 23 different topics of the relationship between Italy and the United States. Our guests included 14 men and 11 women in 23 interviews. Seven of our guests live in Italy, 18 in the United States. They all share a love for Italy and the United States.

These are the topics you'll find in this yearbook: La Dolce Vita University; the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America; Italy in Charlotte, NC; Italy in Des Moines, IA; Italian Studies at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL; the Italian Trade Commission in New York, NY; Italian innovation in California; the National Organization of Italian American Women; Italian American Nicknames and Identity in the 21st century; the Tuscan emigration to the US; Italy in Detroit, MI; how to tell the Americans the story of the Italian Innovators; the Italian cuisine in the US; the  American Friends of LoveItaly; Three very talented young Italian singers adored in the US; Italy in Seattle, WA; the incredible Magazzino Italian Art in the New York State; Centro Studi Americani in Rome; Italy in Omaha, NE; the Italian American Reputation Lab; the 100th anniversary of UNICO National; Christmas in Italy; the story of the Italian opera in the US. 

On the weekend of January 13/15, we were fortunate and honored to represent Italy at the first Italian American Future Leaders conference held in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It was an incredible event, the beginning of something extraordinary, with nearly 100 young Italian-Americans between the ages of 21 and 25 and some friends like me above this age limit serving as Advisory Board. The conference, organized and sponsored by Basil Russo and John Viola, was a great success, and on this occasion We the Italians got to tell about some of the things we have done so far and will be doing during this year. In addition, my daughter and I represented Centro Studi Americani (the Center for American Studies) and the students who have participated and will participate in the project "Alla scoperta dell’America” (Discovering America), which has the partnership of Centro Studi Americani and the Conference of Presidents of the Major Italian American Organizations, thanks to the mediation of We the Italians. Please find some photos and videos here.

One of the videos we aired, this one, is about the metaverse of We the Italians, an exciting new project created by our partner Carraro Lab. Please find in this issue of the magazine an article explaining what we are doing and what we will be doing, also together with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of 2024, the year of Italian Roots Tourism. I highly recommend reading the article and watching this video, made for the Florida conference but containing many extraordinary opportunities that we will talk more about in the future. In the meantime, if you want to enter our metaverse, you can do so (even without the visor) by clicking here. See you there!

Our friends of the Italian Enclaves Historical Society were kind enough to want to give an award to me, but really it is an award to all of us at We the Italians, which I want to share with all the wonderful people who are part of our team. In this issue of our magazine you will find an interview with the founder of this magnificent institution, my friend Ray Guarini, whom I thank for the award, for the interview and for his invaluable work: you can also read the interview here.

From this year we have decided, after receiving many requests from you, to open to the possibility of receiving your donations. You are very generous to us, we thank you and invite you to continue donating what you can and want to help us grow more and more: find the link to do so here, or you can scan the QR code below. Thank you!

Last but not least, another big news that this new year brings. We are selecting Italian business partners, taking care to propose only the best of the best, to bring the highest quality and 100% Italian products and services to our Italian friends in the United States. The first of these partnerships was born in this January, with a collaboration that will be explained thanks to a series of articles in our magazine starting this month, in the new column called "KEFA, an Italian story." KEFA is an Italian company that proposes three selected and exclusive items, of the highest quality, of excellent value, which are an opportunity and an investment for all of you who would like to take this suggestion of ours that comes with a huge gift of great value. These Made in Italy jewels are a watch and two pens, one in gold and one in silver, the result of excellent Italian craftsmanship, depicting the coat of arms of the Vatican and, by EXCLUSIVE CONCESSION, that of Pope Francis. As you will read in the article in this issue of the magazine, the first in a series that will tell you this incredible Italian story, part of this initiative will go to the STOQ Science and Faith Foundation charity. These are really three extraordinary Italian items, and our friends at Kefa wanted to grant a unique and exceptional gift to us at We the Italians and to all our readers. Those who want to invest, after reading all the features that make it a unique item, in the purchase of a "Petrus" watch, will be given a silver "Emblema silver" pen: this gift, exclusively for our readers, is worth $1,050. At checkout, adding the code WTI will automatically add a free "Emblem Silver" pen for each "Petrus" watch placed in your cart, exclusively for you. Here you will find the exceptional characteristics and prices of these three items: the "Petrus" watch (for men, here; and for women, here); the "Emblema Aurum" gold pen; and the "Emblema Silver" silver pen. We at We the Italians are proud to be able to partner up and offer these unique and inimitable Made in Italy items of the highest quality, and with a huge gift just for our readers. Believe me: you will thank us if you choose them.

Well, I’d say it’s enough for just one month, right? And what a month! Let me remember our virtual store, where 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!

It’s all for now. Please stay safe and take care, and enjoy our magazine and our contents on our website. The future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades. A big Italian hug from Rome!