Dear friends, 2023 is coming to an end. It has been a year full of events and content, but in this last part of 2023 we are preparing big news for 2024, which for We the Italians will be a different, better year from the previous ones. Stay tuned!

Since the last editorial, We the Italians has had the pleasure of participating in three different events, all here in Rome. I had the honor of welcoming to Rome, along with U.S. Ambassador to Italy H.E. Jack Markell, the 130 participants in the trip organized by the Daughters of American Revolution. On that occasion, thanks to my friend Mary Tedesco, I was able to meet in person President Pamela Wright, of Italian heritage, whom I had interviewed in January of this year, and receive from her the DAR Medal of Appreciation: I am very proud and grateful for it.

A few days before, another important event allowed me to tell the story of the contribution that other Italian American women, who emigrated from our country to America and particularly to Providence, Rhode Island, have made to the economy, society and beauty of the United States. The event, also dedicated especially to a female audience, was held in the magnificent Museo Nazionale etrusco di Villa Giulia (National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia), as part of the presentation of Maria Teresa Cannizzaro and Fiorella Operto's book "E Dante sbarcò in America," for which I had the honor of writing the preface.

This book is published by Fondazione Migrantes: and a few days later it was exactly this exceptional organization who organized the presentation of the 2023 Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo. Every year I repeat myself: Fondazione Migrantes is an amazing foundation which every year publishes an incredible report (more than 500 pages every year) about Italian emigration. The curator, the person who coordinates the report, is a fantastic young Italian woman, an incredible sociologist, a beautiful person, a dear friend of mine and also the We the Italians Ambassador for the emigration topic: Delfina Licata. Also this year Delfina was kind enough not only to invite me at the presentation, but also to allow We the Italians to publish an abstract of the report, which you will find - only here - in this November number of our magazine.

So, November was a female month for We the Italians… Mary, Pamela, Maria Teresa, Fiorella, Delfina: beautiful, competent and committed women with Italian dna. I am lucky and blessed to call them friends!

But our November has also male friends with us. This month we are pleased to welcome two new Ambassadors in our family.

Pete Melucci is our new Ambassador in Arizona, the Grand Canyon State. Pete is of full-blooded Italian descent. His great-grandparents came through Ellis Island in the early 1900s. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and moved to the southwest in 1997. Pete sits on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Italian-American Chamber of Commerce. He is also the Regional Vice President of the Southwest Region with the National Italian American Foundation, and is the one who is organizing the NIAF January 2024 gala.

Tom Cesarini is our new Ambassador in San Diego, California. Tom holds a PhD in leadership studies from the University of San Diego, with a specialization in nonprofit research and management. Tom is the founder and executive director of Convivio, a nonprofit organization that promotes Italian cultural identity. He also serves the community through his role as the Italian honorary consul in San Diego.

Last but not least, once again this year We the Italians has decided to nominate the Italian American of the Year. In 2022, Stanley Tucci won. This year we are asking you to vote. You can vote for anyone you want: a famous person, the President of your club, anyone who is Italian American and deserves for you to be elected Italian American of 2023. Please vote filling out the form here. We will announce the results in December.

As Christmas is coming, let me remember our virtual store, the perfect place where to buy gifts for your family, your friends and – why not – for yourself! 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!

A wonderful gift could also be the 2022 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. Soon the 2023 yearbook of We the Italians will be available, with the interviews of this year, both in Italian and English. It will be our tenth book.

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!