ROME — America turned 250 this year, and Italy marked 80 years as a republic, and with each year
that passes the bond between them pulls tighter.

The two anniversaries framed the mood at Villa Taverna, the American ambassador’s residence in Rome, on July 2, where Ambassador Tilman Fertitta toasted a partnership he said grows stronger every day.

Fertitta, in his first year in Rome, built the evening around what the two countries share rather than what separates them. “Italy is a trusted partner and friend, and our ties grow stronger every day,” he told more than 2,000 guests. “We believe that our bonds with allies, like Italy, are the cornerstone of American strength and leadership.”

Ambassador Fertitta put family first during his celebratory speech. Over 17 million Americans claim Italian heritage, and the US representative hosting the July 4 party is one of them.

“Over 17 million Americans claim Italian heritage, including me, which makes being Ambassador here especially meaningful,” Fertitta said. He will spend the Fourth of July in Sicily, from where his great-grandparents emigrated more than 130 years ago.

That 17 million is the cautious count. The National Italian American Foundation, a heritage body in Washington, puts the wider community, partial descendants included, closer to 26 million. Most trace their roots to the south and to Sicily, the largest single source of Italian migration to America.

“Regarding Italy and the USA, the relationship has always been strong overall,” Professor Anthony Julian Tamburri, Dean John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in the US, told Italy Now. “Both the Italian and USA collectives recognize the importance of a healthy bond.”

The traffic still moves both ways. More than 45,000 American students and eight million visitors come to Italy each year, Fertitta said.

Reaching space

The partnership now reaches beyond the atmosphere. In June, NASA named Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano pilot of Artemis III, the first European assigned to an Artemis crew, on a test flight planned for 2027.

“Viva l’Italia and God bless the United States,” the ambassador closed, using the Italian for long live Italy.

Giorgia Meloni did not attend. The anniversaries will pass, and so will the governments. The family arithmetic, somewhere between 17 and 26 million people, will not.