L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 2 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 1 consulate's service area is vast and includes northern California c o u n t i e s , I d a h o , M o n t a n a , Oregon, Utah, Hawaii, Alaska, Utah, Washington, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. B a t t o c c h i g r e w u p i n Trentino, a region of northeast- ern Italy. Previously he had a stint in the private sector as vice president for government affairs at Enel. Within Italy's foreign service, he had led the desk for trade and investment promotion at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, was the head of the economic section of the Italian Embassy in Tel-Aviv and served at the financial section of the Italian Embassy in Bonn, Germany. He graduated in eco- n o m i c s f r o m B o c c o n i University, Milan, and received a Master's degree in public poli- cy at Princeton University. Over the past several years, L'Italo-Americano's conversa- tions with Battocchi revealed how important his task was to h i m , a n d , m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , how important his legacy has become for the San Francisco Bay Area's Italian community. When asked what was his defin- ing task as the Consul General o f I t a l y i n S a n F r a n c i s c o h e responded: "We like to think of Italy as the land of antique arts and timeless design, but it is also a vibrant modern economy. Over these four years we have showcased the forward-looking, technological side of Italy. We have supported Italian compa- nies here in their expansion into Silicon Valley. At the time of Expo 2015, the World's Fair on food sustainability, we have shown Californians how Italy leads in clean-tech and smart grid technologies. We also have encouraged innovative educa- tional projects like La Scuola International School." Asked if he could name a symbol of the Italy we tried to h i g h l i g h t , h e m e n t i o n e d t h e September 2014 visit of Matteo Renzi, the first of Italian Prime M i n i s t e r w h o c a m e t o S a n Francisco in 32 years, as a deci- sive step to convey the message of innovation. "I could name so m a n y I t a l i a n l e a d e r s t h a t emerged or did business here in the past years. For instance, on July 6, Ambassador Varricchio o p e n e d t h e n e w s t o r e o f t h e I t a l i a n e l e c t r i c s u p e r b i k e Energica in San Francisco with CEO Livia Cevolini. Livia is a w o m a n C E O t h a t b r o u g h t t o California a product of stylish design, innovative 3D printing, superior manufacturing and sus- tainable lifestyle. Her success is the emblem of the new Italy that w e h a v e p r e s e n t e d i n S a n Francisco." In the Bay Area, Battocchi has forged an alliance of all streams of Italianness that were able, for the first time, to work together for a common purpose: "new" Italians in Silicon Valley and second, third, fourth genera- tion Italians that previously had few contacts, if any. An unusual display of Italian unity was visi- ble on December 2012, when he gathered nearly one hundred Italian business and civic lead- ers on the grand staircase of San Francisco's City Hall, together Consul Mauro Battocchi with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi at the "Festa della Repubblica" 2016. Photograph by Nickolas Marinelli Continued to page 3

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