In 3-Day Event, Chicago Embraces The ‘Made in Italy’

The City of Chicago turned on its Italian colors and hosted a three-day, full immersion event into the Italian culture and business, at the Italian Expo on Sept. 24-26.

At the event, the heads of the Italian government and business entrepreneurs gave a presentation about the importance of the commercial import/export exchanges between Italy and the U.S.

“This is a big event, where we reward the most important members of the Italian industry,” said the president of the Italian American Chamber of Commerce Midwest, Mauro Galli. “We are trying to facilitate the commercial relations between Italy and the Midwest.”

The event started on Sept. 24 and it was followed by an exhibition of four top Chicago-based Italian restaurants, fashion shows and live music.

Consul General of Italy Alessandro Motta said in this moment of crisis partnerships between the private and public sector are necessary and fundamental to increase economic initiatives.

“I am glad that those events take place in Chicago and I am happy to support them,” he said. “In this difficult moment for the economy, we need to increase the opportunities of exchanges like this.”

Motta said the Italian American Chamber of Commerce Midwest is very active in the territory and it is a basic partner for the development of small and medium businesses in the area.

Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce of Pesaro-Urbino and of Bergamo also arrived from Italy to participate in the event and discuss new strategies of the touristic and commercial exchanges between Chicago and the Italian regions.

Antonio Romanucci, president of Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans in Chicago and legal advisor for the Chamber of Commerce Midwest, said he was honored to participate the event.

“This is a tremendous gathering of the business community and of the best that Chicago has to offer,” he said. “We have a representation of manufacturing, sales, legal, accounting, we have one of the greatest wine distributors in the U.S. […] We have the CEO of Lamborghini International here. This is truly the gathering of some of the greatest and successful philanthropic people that the Italian American community has to offer on business.”