Ciao from Rome on lockdown to all the friends of We the Italians.
Dear friends... how are you? At the beginning of the Italian lockdown, now four months ago, you were worried about Italy, in serious trouble while in America the problems had not yet begun, even though the virus was already circulating. Now that, for the moment, Italy is a little better, we are the ones who are worried about you in the United States. It's a difficult year, these are hard times, which tests our patience. but you, please, resist. Stay safe, take care of yourself and your families. Do not underestimate this ugly virus. We'll come out of the woods, but it's still early and the emergency is still out there. Please be careful.
The attacks against Columbus continue, and they really do seem every day more violent and unjustified. Here in Italy, very slowly, something is moving. As I mentioned last month, thanks to Fucsia Nissoli Fitzgerald there is a motion in the Chamber of Deputies in favor of Columbus, which would commit the Italian Government in his defense. You can find in this issue of our magazine the English translation of the motion. We are waiting for it to be discussed and voted on, and then we hope that the Italian Government will wake up. On our part, we at We the Italians have had direct contacts with the staff of the President of the Republic and the one of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We have described the situation and tried to make our interlocutors aware of the need for Italian institutions not to remain silent. We will not stop trying to urge them to take a position in favor of Columbus and the millions of Italian Americans who chose him as their symbol. We the Italians will do everything we can to defend Columbus, you can count on it. Please remember that you can sign our Manifesto in defense of Columbus, here.
Speaking of Columbus, I had the honor to be mentioned in the magazine of the Columbus Citizens' Foundation, where it was a pleasure for me to give a speech on October 31st, in the presence of many friends. I love the Columbus Citizens' Foundation very much, it was a privilege for me.
I am very pleased to inform you that Edoardo Colombo, who is not related to Christopher Columbus! but is one of the three founders of We the Italians, has just published a book entitled "Turismo Mega Trend. Smart destination e turismo digitale: AI, Blockchain, Cyber, IoT e 5G". Edoardo is one of the leading Italian experts in tourism and innovation. The "Super Traveller" always connected is the special observation of the book: a more and more digital interlocutor to which the big online operators turn to, after flights, hotels and restaurants, have developed new platforms to mediate the experiences in destination and digital. The keywords that accompany the reader in this journey into the trends of new technologies for tourism are Artificial Intelligence, chatbot, blockchain, digital identity, IoT, robotics, cybersecurity and 5G. We the Italians has a team of which both Edoardo and I are part, which is working on a new approach for our business plan, in light of the revolution brought by covid-19. If you read Italian and are interested in buying Edoardo's book, you can find it here.
Starting this month, our magazine sees the return of the column on Italian innovation, which I care about a lot. Riccardo Buttarelli will take care of it, who already helps us with our Instagram account (are you already among our followers? No? What are you waiting for? You can find us here, with all the videos of We the ItaliaNews, Riccardo’s stories and every day a wonderful photo of something beautiful and Italian). Riccardo is a 21-year-old International Relations student, active in the social field, passionate about politics and journalism. He literally “una ne fa e cento ne pensa”, an Italian figure of speech that can be translated in something like “while he is doing one thing he already is thinking about a hundred more”. He dreams of being able to fulfill himself in life, but he’s also happy with a well done Carbonara (by the way, who isn’t?).
Last month we had the privilege to host an interview with Antonio Romanucci, co-counsel of George Floyd's family in the civil case against his murderers: we are very proud of Antonio, a great Italian American on the right side of history. But We the Italians is always on the side of the police force, the vast majority of which risk their lives to defend us: good committed people, very different from the four murderers of George Floyd. That's why we're delighted this month to host the interview with Anna Tornello. I'm not anticipating anything, but trust me, read it, you won't regret it. You've never met anyone like Anna, listen to me. America would be a better place with more Antonio Romanucci and more Anna Tornello, two gifts Italy has given to the US.
Meanwhile, our video podcast We the ItaliaNews about Italy during the coronavirus is more and more a success, also together with the audio version spread on seven different platforms. The podcast will take a break from August 6th, and will return in September: we are working on a nice surprise, which we hope to offer you when we return. But We the Italians doesn't stop, we never stop: the news, the interviews, the magazine, the social media and the newsletter will go on also in August.
The cover of this issue is dedicated to the immense Maestro Ennio Morricone, who left us a few days ago, and who is the protagonist of this month's article for the Italian Entertainment column written by Priscilla Sassi. I had the honor of meeting the Maestro last year, during a private award ceremony in his honor held inside the Colosseum, here in Rome. Morricone was simply a genius: among his many innovations, I like to remember when he invented the union between the typical sound of traditional Sicilian culture, the "scacciapensieri" (Jew's harp), and the western movies of the trilogy of another Italian giant like Sergio Leone, who - I don't know if you know it - was Morricone's classmate in elementary school. In his obituary, which he himself wrote and titled "ENNIO MORRICONE, I'm dead", we find these words: "There's only one reason why I have to say goodbye to everyone like this and have a funeral in private: I don't want to disturb". A great man, a great Italian, who not only never disturbed us, but who will always accompany us with his immortal compositions. Thank you, Maestro.
Once again, the recommendation always remains the same: please stay safe, please stay healthy. Do not underestimate this threat, take care of yourselves and your families. We'll get out of this, we'll make it, and we'll come back to hug each other as Italians love to do. Italy and the United States will not stop being brothers, allies, friends. Please follow our video podcast and don’t give up on Italy. I won’t gonna stop saying this: the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades!
