The first official visit of the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to the U.S. started from the city of San Francisco, California.
It was the first visit paid by an Italian Premier to the Golden State since 1982, and the first ever to the Silicon Valley, where Matteo Renzi came searching for innovative ideas and possible investments.
Welcomed by Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and Consul General in San Francisco Mauro Battocchi, Premier Renzi and his team of experts began their tour at Stanford University in Palo Alto, meeting with Stanford President John Hennessy and Ronald Spogli, former U.S. Ambassador in Italy.
The exclusive dinner at the University was also attended by some Italian leading figures from the hi-tech sector on the West Coast, including Apple’s financial director Luca Maestri and Amazon’s VP Diego Piacentini.
On Monday, Matteo Renzi visited San Francisco, participating in a meeting at the Yatch Club with Italian start uppers and researchers from the Bay Area, attending the opening ceremony of the International Italian School, and visiting Twitter’s headquarters.
At the Yatch Club, in the presence of the Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee, Mr. Renzi addressed over 150 Italian entrepreneurs who work in the high-tech sector. In his speech, he stated the commitment of the Italian government to changing the Country’s current situation by building upon the successful example and international experience of fellow Italians abroad.
“San Francisco represents the capital of the future for many of us,” said the Premier. “Italian cities are extraordinarily beautiful but too often stuck in the past. The real challenge is to transform ourselves: jealous of the past and in love with the future. I ask you to move forward, not to return home. I ask you to change the world with your ideas, your passion and determination. On our end, we’ll do our best to change Italy and to make it an easier country with a different labor market, politicians we wouldn’t be ashamed of, better institutions and public administration.”
Accompanied by his wife, Agnese Landini, who teaches in a Florentine high school, Matteo Renzi then attended the opening ceremony of the new Italian International School, a bilingual institute based on the model developed in Reggio Emilia.
They were welcomed by young students singing the Italian hymn and, congratulating with headmaster Valentina Imbeni, the Italian Premier underlined that “The quality of the Italian school system is connected to one of the best cities in the world, San Francisco. Italy is the capital of the past because of its rich historical, artistic, and cultural heritage; whereas this area of the United States is the capital of the future.
The link between the two is represented by the high quality education that they offer: by investing in initiatives like this School we can create great opportunities for these kids’ future. This is why I decided to start my official visit to the U.S. from this city, where brilliant ideas are supported by very good schools and universities. The mission of the Italian government is to invest in many sectors in Italy with a different approach. This School is a model of innovation not only for this city but also for the whole country.”
Afterwards, Matteo Renzi headed to Twitter’s headquarters to discuss with CEO Dick Costolo the opportunities that Twitter can offer to promote tourism in Italy or to improve the public administration. In fact, among the priorities of Premier Renzi’s visit to the U.S. there is “The need to change the relationship between the citizens and public administration by using information technologies and more streamline virtual resources.”
The Premier’s next stop was the Silicon Valley and major American corporations Google and Yahoo!, where he met respectively with co-founder Larry Page and CEO Marissa Mayer.
Finally, he visited the state-of-the-art Singularity University, which hosts many Italian students and international projects, and the NASA headquarters. “I am impressed by the talent of Italian scientists who work in the Silicon Valley, a treasure that we can’t waste,” he said.
Prime Ministrer Renzi’s 4-day tour also included his participation to the UN conference on climate change and to the UN General Assembly in New York.
After his meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle, and with Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Italian Premier ended his visit at the Fiat-Chrysler office in Detroit to discuss with Sergio Marchionne the future of the historical Italian company.
Translation by Silvia Simonetti
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