Recently, our own San Francisco Italian Consul General, Mauro Battocchi posted an interesting observation in his San Francisco, Italy blog at www.sanfranciscoitaly.com. Mauro has noticed an increased interest in all things Italian in the San Francisco Bay Area. He calls this welcomed phenomenon the “Italian Cultural Spring.” And, he is not alone in this observation.
L’Italo Americano interviewed the Consul General on this very topic. Below we share his observations.
What do you think is contributing to the new Italian cultural spring?
This is an extraordinary time for this region. The tech boom under way brings with it great cultural dynamism across the board. The Italians here are part of this miracle. At the same time the new Italians are becoming bolder, while second, third and fourth generation Italians are rediscovering their roots, as Italy increasingly projects a highly “aspirational” image. Italian leaders bring up ideas that find allies within an ever widening circle of Italophiles.
What are your suggestions on how we, the Italian community, can promote, contribute, and expand the ongoing renaissance?
My suggestion for every Italian or Italophile in the Bay Area is: do not see yourself in isolation, you will find plenty of exciting projects to become part of. For example, this year the network of Italian professionals BAIA has launched a campaign to get the community involved in a new Italian cinema festival. This goes hand in hand with the retrospectives on classical Italian cinema at the Castro Theater that attract people in droves, as well as Lido Cantarutti’s Italian Film Festival in Marin County. Wherever you turn, you see an Italian cultural project pop up. Next in line is the first Italian Silicon Valley Festival, coming up in January. The sky is the limit.
Might the growing California economy, especially in the tech industry, be drawing young people directly from Italy?
It does attract bright minds from all over Europe, Asia and the world. All those who are worried about this should keep in mind that the Italians here are not as many as the Brits or the Germans – and their economies are not doing that bad. Silicon Valley is an invaluable platform to promote growth and employment in Italy. Fabrizio Capobianco, Luca Bonmassar, Damian Scavo, Armando Biondi, Marco Campanari, Andrea Calcagno are Silicon Valley based startuppers that are hiring engineers in their Italian R&D centers.
It seems this new wave of Italians is similar to the original great waves of immigration from Italy in the 1800s and early, mid 1900s. Do you see the similarity? If so, in what ways?
The new Italians are highly skilled professionals. They feel more and more connected to the previous waves of immigrants. It was great to see the Juventus Silicon Valley Club march last October 11, for example, in the largest Italian Heritage Parade ever recorded. It is nice to see the Comites of San Francisco, the elected assembly of Italians in the region, mainly composed of people in their thirties and forties. It is also heart-warming to ponder the success of the Scuola Internazionale Italiana of San Francisco.
As the Consul General, you have the best view of what’s happening in San Francisco and the perfect platform to influence Italian culture in the City. In what ways is your work here influenced by current trends?
Our role at the Consulate is to catalyze different streams of activity. We run into people of immensely diverse backgrounds. When the connection happens, it’s often a “Eureka!” result. The Consulate can also be effective in spearheading fundraising campaigns, like “We Love Italian in San Francisco”. I hope that our readers managed to browse our site www.weloveitalian.org. So far we raised about $139,000 with the help of the Comites of San Francisco, which helped strengthen the teaching of Italian all over the Bay Area and beyond. On December 17, 2015 the campaign will take another step. I invite you to join us for a great show by Italian actor and director Massimiliano Finazzer at the ACT Strand Theater in San Francisco.
The Italian Consul General’s role in the Bay Area is quite important. What do you look forward to in the future?
I look forward to the day when a nonstop flight will enable Italians to reach San Francisco in 11 hours instead of 18. The Italian business community has launched an online petition at www.italy-sfo.com.
It hurts me hear my friend (and Italian citizen) Joe D’Alessandro, head of San Francisco Travel, say that Italy is the only major country without a direct connection. I hope this will happen soon.
Mauro Battocchi
Consul General of Italy in San Francisco
Consul General of Italy in San Francisco
2590 Webster Street San Francisco, CA 94115
Telephone: +1 (415) 292-9200. Fax: +1 (415) 931-7205
Email: it.sanfrancisco@esteri.it
Web: www.conssanfrancisco esteri.it/Consolato_SanFrancisco
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