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# 81 JULY 18 , 2016
# 81 juLY 18 , 2016
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THE INTERVIEW:
GLORIA MARINA BELLELLI
Let’s go to Miami, home of many Italians
The South East of the United States is an
interesting area, where the state of Florida – the biggest and the most advanced
in terms of economy and trade – is surely
one of the most representative. Among
its cities, Miami is undoubtedly the main
one, because of a prosperous rate of
tourism, finance, art, and, more generally, culture.
In this picture, the Italian diplomatic delegation in the States, nominated by the
Farnesina, is doing a great job, keeping
strong and solid the relationships between the two countries. This indicates that
the Ministero degli Esteri (The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs) is doing its best to maintain a good diplomatic harmony, regulating the affairs between the two, and the
Italians living there. Today, I am honored
to interview the Italian General Consul in
Miami, Gloria Marina Bellelli.
Consul Bellelli, your consulate includes
the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and some
famous Caribbean islands. How many
Italians are there in this area? Can you
please tell us something about them?
By Umberto Mucci
We have more than 32,000 Italians residents here, who are also registered at
the AIRE. However, we presumably have
more than the double of this number, as
not everybody is registered. Moreover,
we are witnessing a constant growth:
500 Italians per month are regularly registering their residence here, a phenomenon that has especially increased in
the last years, as a result of the recession
in Europe, and the economical situation
in Italy. Therefore, we have many Italians
migrating towards areas where they set
previous contacts and references.
artisans… the Italians who originally moved in South America and that, in order
to get better opportunities, come here,
where they can speak Spanish.
Differently from other states, in Miami
the number of Italians born in Italy and
then emigrated here is higher than the
Most of the Italians who came here in the one of Italian Americans, who mainly
past were mostly restaurateurs and piz- live in other cities. In your opinion, what
za makers. However, this has changed. is the reason of this phenomenon?
Many pensioners come here for the nice
weather, but there are also many Italian Certainly, the distribution of the Italians
Americans who move from New En- and the Italian Americans has changed
gland for the pleasant climate. But then a lot. In the middle of the last century,
also young graduates who come here we had a first flow of Sicilian immigrants,
for educational exchanges and universi- who arrived to work for the production
ty reasons: the start of a potential career of Cuban cigars. This was a rather comhere in the States, considered the higher mon model of immigration, which involprobability of a job or a scholarly care- ved those zones where the opportunities
er. Of course this does not involve only of a job were higher. Then, gradually,
Florida, but also other states of the same it changed. The Italians have preferred
consular area, such as Georgia and its the biggest centers, those with higher
Georgia Tech University, but also South potential to grow; therefore, Miami and
Carolina, which attracts many Italian Orlando became a point of reference for
scholars. And, moreover, the big num- those in search of a job or investment.
ber of professionals, entrepreneurs, and Particularly Miami, which called – and still
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