By Simone Schiavinato -ItaloAmericano.org
Since the great waves of emigration between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, millions of Italians crossed the Atlantic in search of new opportunities, contributing decisively to America’s economic, social, and cultural growth. Today, the descendants of those paesani who left with little more than cardboard suitcases but with enormous reserves of hope and courage, together with the steady flow of young Italians who still move abroad for study, work, research, and professional opportunities, form a community fully integrated into American society and present across virtually every sector of public life: from entrepreneurship to politics, from culture to scientific research, from entertainment to academia.
And yet, their “double identity” remains one of their greatest strengths. Being fully integrated while still feeling connected to another cultural world creates a unique condition, one that benefits both sides of the Atlantic.
Very often, it is precisely the presence of Italian-American communities that forms the real bridge between Italy and the United States. Not businesses, but people; not exports, but expats. Cultural familiarity, shared references, personal relationships, and mutual trust frequently do more to strengthen transatlantic ties than institutional strategies alone.
A classic example of this ability to move naturally between two worlds is Lee Iacocca. The son of Italian immigrants from Campania, Iacocca grew up in a family that maintained the language, traditions, and strong emotional ties to Italy. His father Nicola had arrived in the United States with very little money but managed to build several small businesses. Lee, meanwhile, became one of the most influential managers in American industrial history: he contributed to the success of the Ford Mustang at Ford Motor Company and later famously helped save Chrysler from bankruptcy during the 1980s.
What made his trajectory particularly important was the way he transformed his Italian-American identity into a strength. At a time when stereotypes surrounding Italian Americans were still widespread, Iacocca helped reshape that image into one associated with entrepreneurship, management, innovation, quality, and design. He also supported international industrial collaborations and indirectly reinforced American interest in Italian design, European engineering, and specialized manufacturing.
Today’s newcomers move along a similar path. This highly skilled mobility – involving students, researchers, professionals, and entrepreneurs capable of bringing innovation and expertise into international contexts – also helps keep alive the human, cultural, and social relationship between Italy and the United States. One of the most important elements is precisely the role of trust and mutual understanding, together with a strong interest in Made in Italy products appreciated not out of habit or inherited nostalgia, but because of their quality, tradition, and innovative capacity.
This established network of entrepreneurs, professionals, associations, and consumers understands both Italian culture and the American market, something that greatly facilitates trade, investment, and collaboration. Investing in these communities is a little like planting seeds in land that has already been prepared and made fertile.
Many Italian-American entrepreneurs naturally become commercial partners for Italian companies looking to enter or expand within the US market. At the same time, younger generations of Italian Americans active in sectors such as technology, finance, academia, and research can become strategic interlocutors for encouraging investment, technological exchange, and international cooperation between Italian and American businesses. Above all, however, they are promoters of relationships.
They think, live, and consume both as Italians and as Americans, and this helps foster joint ventures and the spread of Italian products in the United States, especially in sectors such as food, fashion, design, mechanics, and tourism. Italian-American associations and professional networks play a similar role: they facilitate contacts and business opportunities, help Italian companies better understand the American economic system, local regulations, and market dynamics, reducing barriers to entry and encouraging strategic partnerships.
The real strength lies exactly in these bilateral relationships: the stronger and more frequent they become, the more lasting, constructive, and wide-ranging the benefits will be on both sides of the ocean.