Ciao from Rome to all the friends of We the Italians!

First of all, we want to thank all those who bought the new 2019 yearbook of We the Italians! The first month of sales exceeded those of all previous yearbooks, a great success! Thanks really, if you haven't bought it yet and you are curious to know 24 stories about 24 different points of view of the relationship between Italy and the United States, this is the link for you. I will have the pleasure to talk about the book very soon on Rai Italia's TV show "L'Italia con Voi" hosted by the wonderful Monica Marangoni: in March’s issue editorial you will find the link to the episode, which will see me together with a dear friend, the most famous Italian American radio dj back from the Sanremo festival... guess who is it? A tip: he is one of the 226 friends I have interviewed on We the Italians…

A few days ago I had the pleasure to speak in Frank Di Piero's fantastic podcast, Keepin' It Real with Frankie D. Frank is a great Italian American, who has recently also been appointed Director of Casa Italia Chicago, a fantastic place to promote Italy in Illinois. You can listen to the podcast episode here.

You all know that a few days ago a tragic accident took away Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna along with other people including the Italian American Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his daughter Alyssa and wife Keri.  We are proud to say that We the Italians have been supportive supports the campaign towards the mayors of the municipalities of Rieti, Reggio Calabria, Pistoia and Reggio Emilia, who hosted and watched Kobe Bryant grow up during his childhood, to give him the post-mortem Italian citizenship. 

We are very happy to welcome in our family a new member: Stefania Castelletti. Stefania is an Italian graphic designer who is madly in love with New York City. She’s passionately curious and has a great enthusiasm for technology, art and fashion. You can find her always on the look out for the next challenge. Starting this month, Stefania is in charge of our column about Italian design on our magazine. Welcome Stefania!

We are working on several other things, but as the latest news regarding our activities, we leave you with an announcement that makes us very happy: We the Italians and College Life Italia have signed an agreement that will see its fruits starting next month. Stay tuned, very soon we will tell you in detail about this wonderful collaboration that we are sure you will like very much.

Finally, the Italian proverb. This month the letter is “P” and the proverb of the month of February 2020 is: Paese che vai, usanze che trovi ("When in Rome, do as the Romans do"). Be smart, follow the old Italian traditions and proverbs, they are always right!

That’s all for now. Stay tuned, fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride. The future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades!