Dear friends,

August in Italy is a month when almost everything slows down, and what doesn't slow down stops. We the Italians has slowed down a bit, but it never stops, ahead of an autumn for which we are preparing so many things. I am in the mountains in the Emilian Apennines, where my roots are, and from here I write the editorial for this magazine.

The Paris Olympics, in which Italy won so much, recently ended. About the Olympics, in this magazine you will find the article on Italian Sport by Federico Pasquali, which is a nice account of the Italian surprises. I, on the other hand, wrote a small numerical recap, which you can find here.

Last June, in our gala (please check here phots and videos), a key part was dedicated to music. Blaine Brown honored us again with his talent, which was joined by that of Cristiano Cosa: together they created wonderful musical moments, starting with the two Italian and American anthems, and then delighting us in tribute to 6 great Italian American musical heroes of past, present and future times. In this year's gala we inaugurated what will become an annual tradition, namely a musical tribute celebrating either a round-digit anniversary or a newly achieved worldwide success.

And so, during the evening the very talented Blaine Brown and Cristiano Cosa reinterpreted and arranged in their own way five songs I had chosen. Cristiano played “The Pink Panther Theme” in honor of Henry Mancini, who would have turned 100 this year; then he played and sang “Grease” as a tribute to Frankie Valli, who turned 90 this year; and again, in tribute to exactly 40 years since the release of Bruce Springsteen's most iconic album, he sang and played “Born in the USA.” Blaine performed Taylor Swift's “Lover,” nominated last year by Time magazine Person of the Year, the first woman in showbiz ever; and finally, Cristiano and Blaine sang “Cheek to Cheek” together exactly 10 years after Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga performed this classic.  

Last but not least, thanks to the help of our dear friend Jenifer Caito-Ellingson, President of the Little Italy Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa, we are very happy to welcome a new intern with us, Chiara Belfico. Chiara was born in erugia, Umbria, and is now studying in the USA. Because of her passion for running, she was awarded a scholarship as a student-athlete at Drake University, Iowa. Chiara is studying International Business and International Relations and looks forward to applying her knowledge during this internship.

It’s all for now. Please stay safe and take care, and enjoy our magazine and our contents on our website. Rest if you can, we are coming back with good news in the near future: the future’s so bright, we gotta wear tricolor shades. A big Italian hug from Pievepelago, Emilia Romagna!