(ANSA) – LA VALLETTA, 03 GIU – The traditional Republic Day gala organised on 27 May in a large hotel in Malta in the presence of the President of the Republic, Myriam Spiteri Debpono, was the last public engagement of the Italian ambassador to Valletta, Fabrizio Romano, who will end his mandate at the helm of the diplomatic office tomorrow. A meeting with the new head, Ambassador Valentina Setta, is scheduled at the airport.
Romano, born in Pisa in January 1959, a childhood in Moscow following his father in service at the embassy, before arriving in Malta at the height of the pandemic (on 15 January 2021) had led the Italian embassies in Tbilisi, Georgia (2003-2007), and in Kiev (2012-2016) where he followed live the process that led to the outbreak of the Euromaidan uprising (December 2013), the subsequent fall of Yanukovich and the start of the Ukrainian conflict with the annexation of Crimea.
An excellent pianist (with dreams of being able to make more use of his ski instructor’s licence, about which he speaks enthusiastically to friends) and the husband of a professional concert pianist, the Italian diplomat on 26 April produced and premiered a symphonic poem written by maestro Pietro Cangiano, filmed by Maltese public TV and performed in St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta (famous for housing Caravaggio’s St John Taken Off) and dedicated to the Great Asdsedio of Malta in 1565.
“It was a gift from me and Italy to Malta and its people. Our countries are not only close on an institutional level but also in ‘people-to-people’ relations,’ Romano remarked, speaking to ANSA on the eve of the move. Since Malta closed its borders in March 2020 and until the timid reopening the following autumn, the archipelago had emptied of foreigners. The economic upswing was overwhelming and already in the 2021 census it emerged that Italians were the leading ethnic group among foreigners residing on the island. “Those registered with the Aire are around 15 thousand, but with the non-resident Italians who have continuous work contracts, the figure rises to over 30 thousand, to which must be added students, tourists and seasonal workers. On any given day of the year there are between 35 and 45 thousand Italians on these islands,’ says the ambassador. He says he is “satisfied with the strengthening and renovation of the headquarters, the opening of an Ice anttena, an office of the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza (with the signing of a Mou between the police for the fight against crime and money laundering), and the strengthening of the permanent military mission with a representative of the Coast Guard as well”. He also lists the visits between the two capitals, with Mattarella and Meloni in Valletta for large meetings, but what the Italian community in Malta felt most strongly about was the impulse to Italian cultural activity, with events organised both by the Italian Institute of Culture (with a very rich calendar) and directly by the embassy (over 200 concerts, exhibitions, presentations, meetings).
“But what I am most satisfied with is having managed to consolidate in Malta the perception of an Italian System that integrates the Embassy, Ice, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Military Mission, ComItEs and the Maltese-Italian Chamber of Commerce: so many aspects of a single interlocutor”.
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Romano, born in Pisa in January 1959, a childhood in Moscow following his father in service at the embassy, before arriving in Malta at the height of the pandemic (on 15 January 2021) had led the Italian embassies in Tbilisi, Georgia (2003-2007), and in Kiev (2012-2016) where he followed live the process that led to the outbreak of the Euromaidan uprising (December 2013), the subsequent fall of Yanukovich and the start of the Ukrainian conflict with the annexation of Crimea.
An excellent pianist (with dreams of being able to make more use of his ski instructor’s licence, about which he speaks enthusiastically to friends) and the husband of a professional concert pianist, the Italian diplomat on 26 April produced and premiered a symphonic poem written by maestro Pietro Cangiano, filmed by Maltese public TV and performed in St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta (famous for housing Caravaggio’s St John Taken Off) and dedicated to the Great Asdsedio of Malta in 1565.
“It was a gift from me and Italy to Malta and its people. Our countries are not only close on an institutional level but also in ‘people-to-people’ relations,’ Romano remarked, speaking to ANSA on the eve of the move. Since Malta closed its borders in March 2020 and until the timid reopening the following autumn, the archipelago had emptied of foreigners. The economic upswing was overwhelming and already in the 2021 census it emerged that Italians were the leading ethnic group among foreigners residing on the island. “Those registered with the Aire are around 15 thousand, but with the non-resident Italians who have continuous work contracts, the figure rises to over 30 thousand, to which must be added students, tourists and seasonal workers. On any given day of the year there are between 35 and 45 thousand Italians on these islands,’ says the ambassador. He says he is “satisfied with the strengthening and renovation of the headquarters, the opening of an Ice anttena, an office of the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza (with the signing of a Mou between the police for the fight against crime and money laundering), and the strengthening of the permanent military mission with a representative of the Coast Guard as well”. He also lists the visits between the two capitals, with Mattarella and Meloni in Valletta for large meetings, but what the Italian community in Malta felt most strongly about was the impulse to Italian cultural activity, with events organised both by the Italian Institute of Culture (with a very rich calendar) and directly by the embassy (over 200 concerts, exhibitions, presentations, meetings).
“But what I am most satisfied with is having managed to consolidate in Malta the perception of an Italian System that integrates the Embassy, Ice, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Military Mission, ComItEs and the Maltese-Italian Chamber of Commerce: so many aspects of a single interlocutor”.
Read article…
