Renewing Italian Pride in the US

SAN FRANCISCO – Even before the year 2012 had drawn to a close, the Consul General of Italy in San Francisco, the Honorable Mauro Battocchi, teamed up with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, to announce the beginning of “2013 Year of Italian Culture” in the United States, and specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

 

The announcement was made in grand style at a press conference held at San Francisco’s City Hall on December 12th.  The Consul General and Mayor were flanked by current and former Italian legislators, while the leaders of the various organizations from the Italian Community posed on the grand staircase in City Hall in a show of solidarity.

 

 Now that the Year of Italian Culture has officially begun, Consul General Battocchi once again called together the leaders of the Italian Community to announce his plan to work together to renew Italian pride through a series of events throughout the year. 

 

The meeting was held over breakfast at the Italian Consulate in San Francisco.  The Consul General said that his objective is to present Italian culture to the American public, not only in its traditional form of historical and artistic legacy, but as a dynamic asset that Italians and Italian-Americans can leverage to promote economic and technological ties between Italy and the US, as well as to renew Italian pride within the Italian-American Community.

 

Italian culture and identity that have distinguished the Italian tradition over the centuries are to be showcased:  art, music, theater, landscaping and architectural heritage, cinema, literature and language.  At the same time, efforts will also be focused on the aspects of Italian contemporary life that are relevant to modern global life: design, fashion, food culture, modern education, sports, sustainability, technology and innovation.

 

Consul General Battocchi’s goal is to create an enhanced perception of Italy, not only as a tourist destination, but also as a reliable business partner, an attractive location for foreign investment.  Italians and Italian-Americans can be the protagonists of this “rebranding” of Italy in the US, which can make it all the more attractive to the new generations of Americans.

 

A series of events has been planned by the Italian Government all over the US.  The Consul General has also drawn up a master plan of events in the Bay Area.   A part of the cost of the events will be funded by the Italian Cultural Institute and by the Consulate General.  Other events will be funded and implemented with the cooperation and support of private and corporate donors.

 

To fund these events, the Consul General outlined a plan for a capital campaign, the purpose of which is to develop a fund that issues yearly grants to San Francisco Bay Area events and programs that preserve and expose Bay Area citizens to all aspects of Italian Culture.

 

The Consul General’s goal for 2013 is to raise $20,000.  The recipients of the funds will be major cultural, educational and charity institutions within the Italian-American Community.  During the first year of the capital campaign, funds will be distributed to the Piccola Scuola Italiana di San Francisco, the Museo Italo-Americano, Italian Community Services, and high school Italian-language Advanced Placement programs.

 

All funds will be received and held by the Comitato Italiani all’Estero, also known as COM.IT.ES, an organization comprised of Italian citizens living in the United States.  As a non-profit organization, donations to COM.IT.ES will be tax-deductible to donors. 

 

The Consul General also announced a “Cultural Ambassador Circle Program,” the purpose of which is to fund major flagship events during the 2013 Year of Italian Culture.  Individual philanthropists, foundations and corporate sponsors will be targeted as potential donors.  The “flagship events” that will benefit from the fundraising program will be the New Italian Design 2.0 Exhibit at the Cannery in June, the America’s Cup Team Reception in July, the Bulgari Jewels Exhibition Opening in September, Verdi’s Requiem joint performance by the San Francisco Opera and Teatro San Carlo di Napoli in October, and Ennio Morricone’s concert at Davies Symphony Hall, also in October.

 

In addition to being the non-profit umbrella organization for the receipt of funds, COM.IT.ES will also be publishing a joint calendar where all Italian organizations can have a central place to schedule their individual events without overlapping each other.

 

This is not the first time in the Italian Community’s history that a representative of the Italian Government has attempted to unite the various organizations, nor is it the first time that a Consul General has attempted to raise money within the community and have it held by a central non-profit organization.  Such attempts have been less than well received in the past, and success has been illusory for the well-meaning men who have been the public face of Italy in the Bay Area. 

 

How this will all play out, and the level of success that this Consul General will enjoy, will be largely dependent on his own abilities and reputation he is building in the Community, and—dare we say it—his diplomatic skills.  If his first few months as Consul General are any indication, there is a better-than-average expectation of success.  One thing is for sure, Mauro Battocchi is certainly off to a good start.