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this program was set to include cultural events,
economic development projects, new temporary
buildings for the embassy and the ambassador’s
residence, and an ambitious plan for the construc-
tion of new buildings on historic land. Italy dis-
played a strong commitment to strengthening ties
with the Italian community and implemented a
program of political visits, which were spearhead-
ed by the official luncheon between the two pres-
idents in Rome on February 13, 2019, after years
of languishing contacts between the heads of the
two states.
As noted in the previous pages, “Diplomatic relations are at their highest level in history.”
29
The new
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Álvarez, has reiterated to me personally and also publicly that he and
the new government intend to contribute to this new chapter in diplomatic relations with Italy. As stated by
Minister Álvarez during his conference as keynote speaker at the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce
on September 22, 2020, “Despite all these achievements, we are not satisfied with the current state of affairs.
I commented to Ambassador Canepari on several occasions that if we achieved victory in the elections, we
would propose to restart relations between our country and Italy. Through this virtual appearance I take
this opportunity to reiterate that commitment to this important audience.”
30
We have, consequently, set the
groundwork for renewed collaborations between the two countries.
The Dominican business community of Italian origin is personally committed to the proposal to rees-
tablish more ambitious relations and, accepting my invitation to create new bridges between Italy and the
Dominican Republic, agreed to form part of the board of directors of the Dominican-Italian Chamber of
Commerce.
Beginning with the efforts made by the two countries in recent years, diplomatic relations in the coming
years may be even deeper and more fruitful. The work accomplished over the course of these years shows
how important it is to build on these relations, starting with the rich shared history of the two countries and
focusing on future opportunities.
The celebration of Italian cultural heritage in the Dominican Republic has been at the center of a multi-
dimensional public diplomacy program inspired by the 200
th
anniversary of the birth of Juan Bautista Cam-
biaso, a citizen of an Italian state and consul of the Republic of Genoa, founder of the Dominican Navy, first
admiral of the republic, and hero of Dominican Independence. This program consists not only of the publi-
cation of this academic collection, which contains essays by 45 scholars specializing in the cultural relations
of the two countries (encompassing history, art, music, engineering and architecture, science, economics,
agronomy, journalism, etc.), accompanied by a wealth of images, and published by Umberto Allemandi in
Italian and Spanish, and, featuring the participation of American scholars, by Saint Joseph’s University Press
in English. The iconic stories in this book have also appeared in a professional digital edition, as well as a
comic book album (graphic novel) for fifth-grade students, which has been distributed in schools in the Do-
minican Republic, as well as in online formats. The album has been made by professional graphic designers,
screenwriters, and cartoonists and aims to inspire the collective imagination by using a single-frame format
to disseminate these fundamental stories for the Dominican Republic, with some episodes and protagonists
that symbolize the historical-cultural relations between Italy and the Dominican Republic. Yet another di-
mension consists of a video tour of Italy directed by Andrea Vierucci, which presents the places of origin of
the historical figures described in the book and in the comic book, creating a real and virtual photographic
exhibition of photographs that have reunited key Italian and Dominican locations, whose shared histories
have been rediscovered thanks to the narratives provided in this book.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. PART TWO. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS IN THE PRESENT: 2017-2020
Logo of the
cultural year for the
commemorations of
the birth bicentenary
of Admiral Giovanni
Battista Cambiaso.
© Italian Embassy
in Santo Domingo