L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano H e had two very spe- cific goals for his term in Los Angeles: to answer as best as possible to the needs of the Italian community, and to support Italian excellence in the field of entrepreneurship, cinema, culture, science and, more in gen- eral, of Italian style. Now, at the end of his diplo- matic mission at the head of the Consular District that includes Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico, Consul General Antonio Verde can cer- tainly be satisfied. Graduated in Political Science at the Oriental University of Naples, Verde en- tered the diplomatic career in 1990. His experiences in the Ital- ian diplomatic and consular offices have led him over the years to Tokyo, Moscow, Strasbourg, and Sydney, where he took office as a Consul General for the first time. Antonio Verde began his mandate in California on October 22nd 2014 and now a new diplomatic challenge awaits him at the Em- bassy of Italy in Egypt. "Los Angeles will remain in my heart, it has been a significant city both from a professional and personal point of view." Antonio Verde tells us, while assessing the results at the end of his four years in office. "This is an important de- parture and like all departures it is somehow painful. I leave Los Angeles with great regret, but also with amazing memories of the many friends I met in this extra- ordinary metropolis." Consul Verde, what was the most important challenge in these years? The challenge was, first of all, that of reaffirming and strength- ening Italy's presence here, so far from home, and to become a point of reference for all our compatri- ots. In this context, it was first of all necessary to efficiently provide the consular services collectivity requires, from the classical issuing of passports to more complex practices, including assistance to our compatriots in transit and, in many cases unfortunately, in situ- ations of emergency. At the same time, it was necessary to make every effort to promote our coun- try in all possible fields: artistic, cultural, linguistic, scientific, com- mercial. The number of initiatives, the positive impact witnessed with Americans and foreigners in gen- eral, the number of issued visas, in addition to the considerable at- tention given to us by the press, speak for themselves and crown SILVIA GIUDICI Consul General Antonio Verde says goodbye to Los Angeles at the end of his mandate Dogman by Matteo Garrone. Is there something of these four years that you will bring with you? First of all, a great love for this city that is so full of positive en- ergy and has the ability to face life with energy and without ever neglecting the human aspect and creativity. It is an important legacy that will support me in my next work experience in Egypt, a country, like Italy, in the Mediter- ranean area, that has great vitality; we have a long and common his- tory of friendship and collabora- tion with Egypt, a country that al- ways gave great attention to Italy. What will you miss about Los Angeles? Its light, its colors, the liveli- ness of LaLaLand and its ability to make us dream. I will miss the many friends I got to know in these years, I will miss the city's positive attitude towards life, with its ability to tell about itself, to laugh about itself and reflect about itself. I will miss that "Cal- ifornia Dreaming" picturing Cal- ifornia as a new and exciting world, and that I tried to live to the full. What message would you like to leave to the consul who will now take your place? Silvia Chiave is a very good colleague. I wish her to live and work well and joyfully in Los An- geles, just as I had the luck to do, enjoying the sun, the ocean - whose view melts the heart - the friendship of the angelenos and the warmth of our splendid Italian community! the work of four intense years where, in spite of our limited re- sources, we nevertheless met mul- tiple needs, often unlimited and unpredictable by their very nature. It was a doable mission but cer- tainly very complex, and - thanks to my good staff at the Consulate - it has been dealt with very posi- tive results. During your mandate in Moscow you witnessed the tran- sition from Boris Yeltsin to Vladimir Putin and here in America from Obama to Trump. How did you experi- ence these two important his- torical and political changes? From a professional point of view, I consider myself privileged to have had the opportunity to closely witness such historical transitions in two big, important and complex countries like Russia and the United States. These are experiences that have enriched me as a human and that I will bring with me as a precious teaching and with indelible memory. There have been many ini- tiatives carried out with the col- laboration of the Italian System in LA. Which project are you most proud of? Our activity has been strength- ened by an increasingly intense and synergistic collaboration with all the other official Italian insti- tutions operating in Los Angeles: the Italian Institute of Culture, the ICE - Italian Trade Promotion Agency, the ENIT- Italian Gov- ernment Tourist Board, the IACCW - Italian-American Chamber of Commerce. Together, we have been able to promote our territories, our culture, art, science and economy in a coherent and integrated way, by creating im- portant partnerships, like the one between Italian partners and their local counterparts, such as the Port of Los Angeles, the Getty Museum and other important Los Angeles based companies. In these past four years there were also many exchanges with Italy, such as the return of the Head of Hades and the most re- cent arrival of the Satiro Ebbro at the Getty Museum. Many re- lations with your city, Naples. It is natural that the Getty Mu- seum sought a connection with Naples - and with Campania - where the largest Archaeological Museum in the world is located, for collaborative activities related to Classical antiquity, but also to many other artistic expressions that almost ideally combine these two great seaside towns. For us, Naples is a very im- portant partner and, forgetting about some less exciting experi- ences of the past, it can share with us today a more vital phase. In addition to working with some re- alities in my hometown, we have been more active on the whole na- tional Italian territory. I think about, to name just a few, the UCLA collaborations with many Italian universities, the projects with the Galleria Borghese of Rome, the Egyptian Museum of Turin, the initiatives with Sar- dinia, Sicily, the Tri-Veneto, with Tuscany and, this year, also with Puglia that was one of the protag- onist at the NIAF and that will once again be in the spotlight in the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World that will take place in Los Angeles from November 12th to 18th, simultaneously with Cinema Italian Style and with the official presentation in Hollywood of the Oscar-nominated Italian film, LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Consul General Antonio Verde with Monica Bellucci. Ph Credit: Stefania Rosini Academy Award winner Composer Ennio Morricone and Consul General of Italy, Antonio Verde. Photo Courtesy of A. Verde

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