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stamp. In some other cases it
is more difficult: for example,
in certain situations, when the
request is for a work visa, they
have to go to Chicago.
Then, I do a lot of certifications,
legalizations, just basically
confirming that those in front
of me who are signing a document are actually who they
say they are. There is a wide
variety of areas where this can
happen: somebody who receives an Italian pension every
year have to certify that he or
she is alive and doesn’t have
other source of income; somebody who inherits from Italy;
those who are pursuing Italian
citizenship; those who want to
get married in Italy, for which
there’s a whole process to go
through; general assistance to
Italian citizens who happen to
be in our jurisdiction, whether
if they live here or they are just
passing through. An example:
if somebody from Italy rents
a car and is driving here and
gets stopped by a police officer, when he says “I need to
see your drive license” they
present an Italian drive license.
The police officer doesn’t understand the document, maybe he thinks that it could be
a case of illegal immigration,
8 | WE THE ITALIANS
www.wetheitalians.com
and that’s when I have to call
and talk to the police officer
and explain that they are temporarily allowed - as visitors to use their own drive license
here.
Are there many Italian citizens
in your area?
It’s always difficult to answer
because Italian citizens are required to register with AIRE at
the relevant Consulate, but not
all do. In terms of Italian citizens
there’s two groups, essentially:
those older, who have been
here for a long long time; and
then the younger citizens, who
have come here recently, for
work or because they’ve married somebody from this area.
But, my sense is that probably
it could be between a hundred
and two hundred, maximum.
About the Italian Americans
that’s a way larger number, because Kansas City and St. Louis
were two very large destinations for Italian immigrants for
hundred years. So, the Italian
American population is big,
but we’re talking about third,
maybe fourth generation Italians, who in some cases have
lost their connection with Italy.
I would say at least 250,000
people of Italian heritage live
in Kansas and Missouri.
Last November the Italian Ambassador to the US Claudio
Bisogniero travelled to Kansas City. It was the first time in
over 50 years, the Consul general from Chicago Adriano
Monti was also here, and I assembled all, organized all the
visits, to cultural institutions,
businesses, associations: this
is the part of representation
of Italy. I am in the Consular
Corps, here in Kansas City we
have 25 countries represented. So, those are our general
activities. It’s a Honorary Vice
Consulate, not a paid position:
it’s something that I just volunteer for. It takes a little time
each week but I’m happy to do
it. I started in March 2010, my
father was the previous Vice
Consul and when he reached
the mandatory retirement age
he asked me if I wanted to do it
and I said yes: so I went to Chicago to be interviewed, attend
a few meetings and then they What’s their story?
agreed to appoint me.
Just like other cities in the United States, Kansas City and