Italy–USA Foundation (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: ''Fondazione Italia USA'') is a non-profit

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

organization based in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, established to promote friendship between

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

and

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

plus American culture in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Organization

The foundation's president is Mauro della Porta Raffo, and its Vice Presidents are Emilio Carelli, Gabriella Giammanco, Dario Stefano and Gianpaolo Vallardi. The Secretary General and founder is Corrado Maria Daclon. The President of the Scientific Committee is Alain Elkann, the Vice Presidents of the Scientific Committee are Stefania Giannini and Franco Bassanini, and the Secretary of the Scientific Committee is Antonio Martino.

Activities

The foundation organizes meetings between Italian members of Parliament and US Senators and Representatives to discuss legislation and cultural issues; these include meetings with

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservatism in the United States, conservative state legislature (United States), state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share Model act, ...

(ALEC) members. The foundation cooperates with many American universities, like John Cabot University and

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

through the John Felice Rome Center, for projects, conferences, staging. The scientific committee consists of more than 30 members, including some Italian scientists, politicians, diplomats, and journalists, for example Paolo Mieli, Stefania Giannini, Vincenzo Camporini, Fiamma Nirenstein, Aurelio De Laurentiis, Giuliano da Empoli, Beatrice Trussardi,

Mario Capecchi Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 6 October 1937) is an Italian-born molecular geneticist and a co-awardee of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a method to create mice in which a specific gene is turned off, known as knoc ...

, Giampaolo Di Paola, Carlo Cracco, Giulio Tremonti, Carlo Scognamiglio, Francesco Paolo Fulci, Edward Luttwak, Dante Ferretti, Antonio Marzano, Carla Fendi, Antonio Martino, Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo, Carlo Rubbia, Margherita Missoni, Carlo Pelanda. The Director of the Scientific Committee is Emilio Iodice, a former American diplomat, best-selling author, professor and business leader. The foundation is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact and also promotes the ''Leadership per le relazioni internazionali e il Made in Italy'' Master's degree, directed by the former minister Stefania Giannini. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

sent to the Secretary General of the Foundation, at the end of his presidency, a letter to thank the Foundation for the support since his 2008 campaign and election: "Michelle and I have many fond memories of our visits to Italy during the Administration, and we are touched by your and the Italy-USA Foundation's support and inspired by the work."

America Award

The Italy–USA Foundation promote yearly in Italy the America Award (

: ''Premio America''), a recognition under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic. The award is mainly seen as a means to acknowledge and encourage initiatives and work aimed at favoring relationships between Europe and the United States of America. Clearly famous, eminent figures that have distinguished themselves in their work and have achieved the utmost excellence in their respective fields of interested and activities, are considered.

Ceremony

The ceremony is held in

, at

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, the Italian Parliament. The Italy–USA Foundation, in the frame of the America Award, also confer three sterling silver medals of the President of the Chamber of Deputies to three students of American universities. The prize is an exclusive work of art in sterling silver, rose bronze and palladium, representing a Caravel with the American flag.The America Award on the website of the Italy-USA Foundation
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Laureates

Among the winners

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

, Dino De Laurentiis,

Walter Veltroni Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, journalist and politician. He served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the Italian centre-left opposition until his resignation on 17 February 2009. H ...

, Umberto Paolucci, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini,

Umberto Veronesi Umberto Veronesi (; 28 November 1925 – 8 November 2016) was an Italian oncologist, physician, scientist, and politician, internationally known for his contributions on prevention and treatment of breast cancer throughout a career spanning ove ...

, Antonio Campo Dall'Orto,

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

Franco Frattini Franco Frattini (14 March 1957 – 24 December 2022) was an Italian politician and magistrate. He served as the President of the Council of State (Italy), Council of State from January to December 2022. Frattini previously served as Italian Min ...

, Rinaldo Petrignani, Maria Grazia Cucinotta,

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

, Igor Man, Luisa Todini, Paolo Limiti, Piero Fassino,

Renzo Arbore Lorenzo Giovanni "Renzo" Arbore (; born 24 June 1937) is an Italian television host, singer, actor and film director. Career Arbore became nationally recognized as radio anchor man, together with Gianni Boncompagni, in the late 1960s, with ...

, Justine Mattera, Renato Balestra, Massimo Ferragamo, Antonio Di Bella, Emilio Carelli, Alain Elkann,

Oriana Fallaci Oriana Fallaci (; 29 June 1929 – 15 September 2006) was an Italian journalist and author. A member of the Italian resistance movement during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career. Fallaci became famous worldwide for h ...

Emma Bonino Emma Bonino (born 9 March 1948) is an Italian politician. She was a senator for Rome between 2008 and 2013, and again between 2018 and 2022. She also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2014. Previously, she was a Member of the Eu ...

, Laura Biagiotti, Mike Bongiorno, Maria Laura Baccarini, Franca Sozzani,

Jeremy Rifkin Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26, 1945) is an American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist. Rifkin is the author of 23 books about the influence of scientific and technological changes on the eco ...

, Peter F. Secchia, Carlo Rossella, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Edward Luttwak, Alison Smale, Jo Champa, Lapo Elkann,

Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is a retired American diplomat. He was the second ''de facto'' head of state of Iraq as leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United State ...

, Gianni Riotta, Guido Damiani, Oscar Farinetti, Alan Friedman,

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

, Gianni Letta, Roberta Pinotti, Margherita Missoni, Mel Sembler, Frank Joseph Guarini,

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, Gabriella Pession, Paolo Nespoli, Vittorio Zucconi, Mario Moretti Polegato,

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to , and American open-wheel racing, IndyCar from 1964 USAC Championship Car season, 1964 to 1994 IndyCar se ...

, Nicola Bulgari, Stefania Giannini, Uto Ughi, Kathryn Iacocca, Tony Renis, Lucia Annunziata, Ronald Spogli, George Lombardi, Bebe Vio, Joe Bastianich, Alberta Ferretti, Silvio Garattini, Valentina Cervi, Federico Marchetti (businessman),

Bruno Vespa Bruno Paolo Vespa (born 27 May 1944) is an Italian television and newspaper journalist. A former director of the Italian state-owned TV channel Rai 1's news programme '' TG1'', Vespa is the founding host of the programme ''Porta a Porta'' (Engl ...

, Alessandro Benetton, Dario Franceschini, Christian De Sica,

Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

, John R. Phillips (attorney),

Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the prime minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became ...

, Veronica Mainetti, Gualtiero Marchesi, Giovanni Allevi, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Alberto Angela, Nerio Alessandri, Marco Bussetti,

Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice Emanuele Filiberto Umberto Reza Ciro René Maria di Savoia (born 22 June 1972)''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Haus Italien". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, pp. 33, 38–39. .Willis, Daniel, ''The Descendants of Loui ...

, Maria Latella, Danny Quinn, Brunello Cucinelli,

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

, Curtis Scaparrotti, Carlo Cracco, Ilaria Capua, Luca Maestri, Jean Claude Trichet, Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, Massimo Bottura, Valentina Vezzali,

Umberto Guidoni Umberto Guidoni (born 18 August 1954 in Rome) is an Italian astrophysicist, science writer and a former ESA astronaut, being the first European to visit the International Space Station. He is a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. He was a ...

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

, Ronn Moss,

Luca Parmitano Luca Parmitano (born 27 September 1976 in Paternò, Sicily) is an Italian astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps for the European Space Agency (ESA). He was selected as an ESA astronaut in May 2009. Parmitano is also a colonel and test pilot ...

, Jean Todt.

Prosecution of Amanda Knox

A delegation of the Foundation met on Sunday December 13, 2009, in Capanne prison on the outskirts of

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, with American prisoner Amanda Knox, and then campaigned for her until the acquittal verdict. The Secretary General of the Foundation, Corrado Maria Daclon, who became a close friend of Knox's while she was in prison, managed Knox's departure from the penitentiary of

to the airport after the acquittal, when Knox returned to her home in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Knox wrote a letter to Corrado Maria Daclon the day after she was freed by prison, with her first words since she regaining freedom: "To hold my hand and offer support and respect throughout the obstacles and the controversy, there were Italians. There was the Italy–USA Foundation, and many others that shared my pain and that helped me survive, with hope. I am eternally grateful for their caring hospitality and their courageous commitment. To those that wrote me, that defended me, that stood by me, that prayed for me. I am forever grateful to you. I love you."

References

"Radio Radicale, La giustizia moderna in una democrazia liberale"

"Il Sole 24 Ore, Gli italiani promuovono a pieni voti Obama"

"Politicamente corretto, Conferenza promossa con la collaborazione della Loyola University Chicago e dell'ambasciata degli Stati Uniti"

"Il Giornale, Buffet e maxi schermi – folla di politici al party per le elezioni Usa"

"Corriere della Sera, Un dvd racconta l'ascesa del leader"

"Gaffi editore, Collana Ingegni"

"Corriere della Sera, Amanda – In Italia sono stata bene"

* ttp://www.italiausa.org/index.php?c=premio_america The Italy-USA Foundation - America Awardbr>Vogue - Premio America a Franca Sozzani

TG Com - Darina Pavlova vince il Premio America
* ttp://www.ilgiornaledellusso.it/2011/10/10/premio-america-2011-per-laura-biagiotti/ Il Giornale - Premio America 2011 a Laura Biagiottibr>Roma Daily News - Anche Andrea Bocelli al Premio AmericaCetri Tires - La Fondazione Italia Usa conferisce il Premio America a Jeremy RifkinRadio Radicale - Cerimonia del conferimento del Premio AmericaLa Repubblica - Carla Fendi vince il Premio AmericaOnline News - Alla Camera dei Deputati la consegna del Premio America

Il Mondo - Italia USA, al ministro Emma Bonino il Premio America 2013Corriere della Sera - A Carla Fendi e Bonino il Premio America

External links

The Italy–USA Foundation – Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italy-USA Foundation 2005 establishments in Italy Italy–United States relations Foundations based in Italy Italian-American organizations