Florence Reacts to Announcement that US Consulate Will Remain Open

Florence reacted with excitement and appreciation to the announcement by U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta that the U.S. Consulate in Florence will remain open after previous rumors that it would be one of the approximately 30 U.S. consulates and embassies across the globe set to close. 

The U.S. Consulate in Florence serves Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, which includes Florence, Bologna, Pisa and Siena along with many other major Italian cities. The only other American consulates in Italy are in Rome and Milan. Over 15,000 Americans live in Italy and the U.S. is also a large contributor of tourists and study abroad students to Italy. 

Jon Levinson, an American who regularly visits Florence and whose daughter lives in Florence, said he was grateful to hear the consulate will remain open. 

“There’s a huge American community here, of people who live here full time,” Levinson said. “I could understand if it was Siena or if it was another city that was not quite as well traveled, but with the commerce, with the number of visitors—just walk the streets, bumper to bumper, elbow to elbow.” 

Levinson added that for Americans like his daughter living in Florence, handling issues such as visa renewals could prove difficult if the U.S. Consulate in Florence closed, negatively affecting their daily lives.

“Jody would have had to take her kids two hours on a train to Milan, or two hours to Rome on a train with an infant to get a passport or to deal with whatever the items were,” Levinson said. “So it potentially was going to have a real impact.”

Valeria Fargion, a professor of political science at the University of Florence, shared similar sentiments. Farigion, who worked with the consulate as a student studying on a Fulbright Scholarship and recently needed a visa to visit family in the United States, said access to a U.S. consulate in Florence made these processes easier.

“The whole situation was handled by the consulate,” Fargion said. “I had an interview, so that was very helpful, because otherwise I would have had to go to Rome. So I’m very happy that the consulate was open, because I solved the problem in Florence.”

Fargion, who works regularly with study abroad students from the United States, added that the vast number of American students studying in Florence points to the importance of the consulate remaining open.

“I think it was totally crazy to imagine that that the U.S. should close its consulate in Florence, because there’s so many students, so many American programs that are based in Florence, and which means that there are a lot of young people in Florence, and obviously they need the support of the American Consulate, so I just can’t think of how they got the idea of closing it,” Fargion said.

“I think that the programs in Florence are something good, but you need to take care of what the students are doing in town,” Fargion added. “Sometimes they’re not behaving correctly. So it is very good that, in any case, there is a consulate there.”

Fabrizio Ricciardelli — the director of the Kent State University Florence Center and president of the Association of American College and University Programs in Italy (AACUPI) —  said he was unsure about the consulate’s status amid closure rumors and is glad the consulate will remain open due to the amount of American students he works with through the AACUPI.

“The comment I made was, ‘if the US Consulate in Florence will close, we might face some potential problems because we have 18,000 students per year,” Ricciardelli said. “I’m very happy that it will continue to operate in the area.”

Ricciardelli said the consulate is a great aid to American students, especially as they face a new environment abroad that they may not be completely prepared for. 

“This is a very important decision made by the U.S. administration, very strategic, because Florence is not only Florence, but also Central Italy, because the US Consulate here in Florence serves Romania and San Marino,” Ricciardelli said. “You have a very important critical concentration of students.” 

“The concentration of students reaches 20,000 per year, all in these regions. Having a home for them very close is an additional value and an additional contribution to their experience abroad,” Ricciardelli added. “We are in a different environment with different laws and the consulate serves the community of Americans.”

Over 150 North American educational institutions have study abroad programs in Italy recognized by the AACUPI, making up a population of over 35,000 students across Italy. Tuscany alone has 57 programs, many of which are located in Florence.  

Ricciardelli said he emphasizes to his students the importance of being a global citizen, which the presence of a U.S. consulate in Florence reinforces.

“I repeat every time to my students the greatness of being global,” Ricciardelli said. “There is a positive element of being global. This is something which makes two countries, the US and Italy, closer.”

Ricciardelli added that the consulate can help to fortify U.S.-Italian relations.

“This has a practical and active value for the community,” Ricciardelli added. “First of all, and symbolically speaking, I think the presence of this huge number of students’ influence and beyond also reinforces the bilateral agreements between the US and Italy in a broader perspective.”

Levinson said that beyond helping Americans in Florence, the consulate serves as an essential center of cultural exchange.

“It’s not just a place where Italians and people can go,” Levinson said. “It’s a place that holds meetings, that introduces American business to Italian business and Italian business to American business. It’s a place that engenders cultural exchanges. It does all sorts of things that bring Americans and Italians together, as do the other consulates around the world.” 

This article was produced as part of a journalism collaboration with Georgetown University’s study abroad program in Florence.

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