Baron Francesco Saverio Fava (1832–1913) was known for his founding of the Italian Ministry in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He served as the first Italian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of the then recently unified Italy to the United States from 1881 to 1893.

Biography

As Ambassador, Baron Fava served as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. Prior to his service for Italy in the United States of America, Baron Fava served in Brazil and Romania. pp. 316-317. He began his career under the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

governments of Italy but as Italian unity formed under

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

, he continued to serve Italian interests under the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. His greatest challenge as US ambassador consisted of the "New Orleans Affair" in which eleven Italians were lynched by a New Orleans mob on 15 Mar 1891. Lodging a protest with Secretary of State

James Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative ...

and eventually negotiating directly with President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

, the Baron requested federal action to address a lynching of the eleven Italian citizens being managed as a State of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

criminal event. Several Italians were lynched in a New Orleans jail after being falsely accused of a murder. The local and state government failed to act in a test of federal treaties. The Ambassador withdrew from the US in protest and returned to Italy. His return a year later to the US was celebrated as a demonstration of Italian-US relations being restored to "full harmony" Despite resolution of the New Orleans affair, the Ambassador again faced similar circumstances later in his career with the lynching of Italian citizens at Tallulah, LA with strong protests to then Secretary of State

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...

and President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. In 1898 he was named by king

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

senator of the kingdom.
From Italian senate website

Honors

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Grand Officer of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Commendatore OCI Kingdom BAR

Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

References

*Sidney SONNINO, Diario, 1866–1912, I, Bari: Laterza, 1972: 407 1832 births 1913 deaths Ambassadors of Italy to the United States Ambassadors of Italy to Romania People from Salerno Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy 19th-century Italian diplomats {{Italy-diplomat-stub

Biography

Honors

See also

References