WESTERLY — Arnaldo Minuti, the Consul General of Italy, will talk about Italian immigration, Italian-American relations and his career on Friday at the United, at a program sponsored by The Dante Society of Westerly.
The event is “sort of culmination” of the 50th anniversary events that have been organized this year by the society.
“We’ve been working on this for a while,” said Edward Morrone, the chairman of the subcommittee overseeing the event, which is set to take place Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the United’s black box theatre. “This is a high honor for the Dante society and we’re very excited.”
Morrone said the event is free of charge and will be followed by a reception with the consul general which will be catered by students from the Westerly High School culinary program.
“We wanted to involve kids,” he said, “plus their food is spectacular.”
Morrone said a major exhibit about Italian immigration — which was on view at the Hoxie Gallery of the Westerly Library for the month of October — will be restaged in the theater for the consul general’s talk.
The exhibit, “Italian Immigrants in Westerly: Their Stories” — which was researched and organized by Vito DiPaola — will be arranged on easels around the theater, and on view before and after the talk, Morrone said.
“We are expecting several other dignitaries as well,” Morrone said, noting that invitations have been sent to state and local officials.
Minuti, the Consul General of Italy in Boston, is a career diplomat and married father of two, Morrone said, who has served in senior roles at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Head of the Office for International Cooperation against Global Threats and Counterterrorism of the Directorate General for Political Affairs and Security at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Minuti’s postings abroad have included in Ethiopia, Canada, Mexico, and Paris, where he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to UNESCO.
Born in Parma in 1971, Minuti holds a law degree and joined the Foreign Service in 1998. He is a Knight of the Italian Republic and a lieutenant in the Carabinieri Reserve and worked at the Unit for Authorization of Military Armaments of the foreign affairs ministry.
From October 2000 to August 2004, he served at the Embassy of Italy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as head of the commercial office, according to his biography posted on the consulate’s website. He was also involved in development cooperation activities.
From September 2004 to June 2008, he was Consul of Italy in Canada for the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, based in Edmonton.
In July 2008, he returned to the MFA and was appointed Head of the Office of Public Relation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in that capacity, he also managed the press and media in the sector of economic, cultural and European affairs.
From November 2011 to August 2015 he was Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Italy in Mexico City where he dealt with political cooperation, also in the sector of justice and internal affairs.
From September 2015 to December 2019 he was appointed Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to UNESCO in Paris and Delegate to Bureau International des Expositions, and in 2017, he was promoted to the rank of Counsellor of Embassy.
The event is free but registration is required. To register, visit unitedtheatre.org or call 401-388-8208.