The Consul General of Italy in New York, Fabrizio Di Michele, concludes his term after more than four and a half years leading the most important General Consulate of the Italian diplomatic network. An assignment carried out in a complex historical phase, marked by pandemic and sensitive changes in the composition of the Italian community in the United States. In this interview, Di Michele retraces some fundamental stages of the work carried out and the projects that helped strengthen the link between Italy and New York.
What is the most significant legacy he feels to leave after these years at the head of the General Consulate of Italy in New York?
As Consul General I hope to leave a more cohesive Italian community and a Consulate perceived as more efficient, but also closer and open to all compatriots. How has the Italian community changed in recent years? The transformation has not happened only in these years, but it is a process that has been going on for over two decades. I refer to the arrival in New York of an elite of Italians who occupies important positions in research, business, finance, science, medicine, academic, museum and cultural. This group of Italians – men and women, of all sectors – is an extraordinary resource for our country. Of course, a fact that positively affects the world of research, where Italian and Italian are in substantially equivalent number. In other sectors, such as business and finance, a male majority is still quite marked.
What new services or improvements have been implemented by the Consulate during its mandate, and what impact have they had on Italian citizens?
Our effort, in these years, has been to increasingly intercept this new generation of “immigrants”, enhancing its skills and connecting them, with Italian-Americans, and the rest of New York. And then create opportunities for encounter and exchange, because from these occasions only something positive can arise: as collaborations, synergies, even contracts!
From the point of view of the consular services, it is important to remember the legacy of COVID. At the end of the pandemic we found ourselves in front of a Consulate strongly relayed, with quantity and quality of consular services in crisis. From the beginning, the effort was to relaunch the services. If you look at the data in these years, we have multiplied output in all sectors. I just mention the number of passports issued, essential service to Italians abroad. Taking as reference the 2019, last year pre-Covid the Consulate had issued about 5,200 passports. In 2024 we arrived at 8,700 and in 2025 we will exceed 9,000, equal to resources dedicated to service. This means a great improvement in efficiency, which has been perceived by users.
We attach great importance to online reviews, because they represent a direct response from citizens. From 2022 onwards there was a constant improvement: New York Consulate has become one of the best in the United States and over with about 90% positive reviews. This does not mean that there are no difficulties or margins of improvement. For me it has always been essential to maintain a continuous and transparent communication with compatriots – also responding to reviews or requests and comments received on our box for relations with the public. We must give a feedback even when we are unable to offer service in the times or in the ways desired. What partnerships with local institutions or Italian associations have had an impact on strengthening the Italian community and culture in New York?
In New York there is a network of Italian state institutions unique in the United States, which represents at the same time a privilege and a great responsibility for the General Consulate. Next to the Consulate are the Italian Institute of Culture, ICE – Foreign Trade Agency, the Bank of Italy, the Italian Chamber of Commerce, Italy–USA, ENIT, CGIE, Comites, CONI. This is an articulated structure that allows intensive programming of activities in all sectors, from business, culture, tourism, sports, etc. An important effort was that of coordination and synergy between these institutions, working in the promotion of our national interests. Is there a cultural or social project that remembers in a particular way and could become a model for the future?
We have launched or relaunched numerous initiatives with different focus. In 2021 and 2022 our main objective was to offer the Consulate as a reference point to connect or reconnect the Italians after COVID. We have done so through activities of different nature that have also helped to strengthen mutual knowledge between Italians and Italian-Americans.
Several initiatives have been promoted by our country to introduce the world of civil society and American finance the leading Italian business realities of many sectors, from sustainability, pharmaceuticals, space, etc.
We have also invested a lot in research, collaborating with associations such as ISSNAF (Italian Scientists & Scholars in North America Foundation) and AIRI (International Italian Researchers Association), organizing numerous events.
We then promoted an intense activity linked to Italian innovators and start-ups. This is probably the initiative that has produced the most tangible added value, because from those events an association “the Italian Innovators Initiative” (I/3 NYC): it is startuppers, experts, Italian investors fully incorporated in the ecosystem of New York innovation, become a real institutional partner of the Consulate for support to Italian innovation in New York and beyond.
Looking at the future of New York and the Italian community, what brings with it at the end of this mandate?
I believe that the professional and human experience I have lived in New York in these four and a half years is not repeatable, whatever my career is going on.
Recognising the role of Consul General of Italy in New York means working in a city where Italy enjoys an extraordinary historical and cultural weight. This assignment offers privileged access to the highest levels of city life, not only in the field of politics and public administration, but also in those of business, finance, science and research. It is an experience that fully returns the measure of quality, competence and Italian presence in all these areas. Representing Italy in a context like New York means being heard and being able to affect, but also implies a strong sense of responsibility.
At the end of this mandate I bring with me a human and professional patrimony made of relationships and bonds built over time, which I consider unique and of great value, both on the personal level and on the institutional one. If he should wish his successor to lead the Consulate General of Italy in New York, what would be and what elements of continuity would he wish?
With my successor, Giuseppe Pastorelli, who will serve in early January, I have been in contact for a long time. In this place the wish is to have so many energies – those that the city transmits to you but requires at the same time – and always keep your feet on the ground (which is not discounted in New York). I have no doubt that he will do a great job!
L’articolo The legacy of the Consul General of Italy in New York Fabrizio Di Michele: services, community and look to the future proviene da IlNewyorkese.
