The spring sunshine was streaming through the windows of Palazzo Canevaro, the headquarters of the American Consulate in Florence, as I sat down with Daniela Ballard, the current U.S. Consul General for Tuscany, most of Emilia Romagna and the Republic of San Marino, on the morning of April 22, 2025.
You became U.S. Consul General in Florence in Summer 2023. What has your focus been so far?
I arrived about a year and a half ago and it has been a wonderful arrival here in Florence. This is my first tour in Europe and I am fortunate to work with a ton of talented staff. We have three main priorities here at the Consulate. Our number one priority is always the safety and protection of American citizens. We have 18,000 students that are here annually, around 85,000 residents that make Tuscany their home either full- or part-time, and then the most recent estimate that we are seeing is close to four million American tourists that come through the region. It’s a strong and growing number, and all of those people need support and services.
Beyond that, I have an economic background and one of the key things that we always want to do when we have a consulate in a particular location is focus on subnational diplomacy. For us, that’s really political and economic, but also cultural. On the cultural side, we have strong historical ties with Italy. This particular consulate has been in Tuscany for over 200 years and in this building itself for over 75 years, and so we’re very fortunate to have a long history here in both the city and the region, but we don’t take that for granted. The fact that we have these strong historical ties, which go all the way back to Verrazzano. Last year, you probably remember we celebrated the 500th anniversary of Verrazzano’s voyage to map the the East Coast of the United States. We were supportive of Italian freedom during World War II, but the generation that remembers that has long since passed. There are very few people who are still alive from that era, and so we can’t take that relationship for granted. It falls on us, on our Consulate, to make sure that we maintain those ties. Then beyond that, as I said, I have an economic background, and so we have a number of American companies who have opened up offices here. Baker Hughes and Eli Lilly are probably the two biggest household names. Baker Hughes is the largest private sector employer here in Tuscany. Eli Lilly has made significant investments recently in a new drug line that they are building here. Beyond that, we also have a number of Italian companies who have invested in the United States, like Sofidel and Menarini. One of my biggest jobs is to promote investment into the United States by Italian companies and also to promote American exports.
So, how does the Consulate specifically assist in the promotion of American business and trade in the consular district?
We have a number of different vehicles. One, we remain active—and I remain active—regularly with the Confindustrie and there are several of the Confindustrie that support various parts of this region…I should mention that our Consulate is responsible for all of Tuscany, most of Emilia Romagna, with the exception of Parma and Piacenza, and also the the Republic of San Marino. We will work with all of the Confindustrie that support those various regions as well as the American Chambers of Commerce that support those regions, and so we will do a lot of programming with them. Beyond that, we have the Department of Commerce that has people based in Milan and Rome, but nobody here, and so to the extent that we need to promote any kind of commercial endeavor from this region we are usually the first stop. We do a lot of work to try to promote a Department of Commerce initiative called Select USA. For any Italian company that is interested or even considering opening some sort of operation in the United States, there is an annual conference in the United States. It just so happens that this year it’s going to be May 11 through 14. Representatives from virtually all of the United States attend this conference and they help people basically work through the bureaucracy and even the decision-making process. The United States is big, so how do you decide if you should be in Tennessee, Florida or Oregon, for example. It’s great to be able to meet all of the states in one spot and to learn what incentive programs and about any centers of excellence they might have. For example, Alabama has a big aerospace industry, but you wouldn’t necessarily know that. Every state has its thing, and so we do a lot of work to encourage companies to participate in Select USA as well.
It must work the other way round in terms of the Consulate providing assistance to local and regional authorities in your consular district regarding U.S. government decisions.
Exactly. The way that we generally like to talk about what we do is we try to ensure that there is a reliable, consistent, safe and welcoming operating environment for U.S. companies looking to do business in the region. We are very fortunate that we have a great relationship with the president of the region, Eugenio Giani, and with Mayor Sara Funaro, as well as with the president of Emilia Romagna and the Mayor of Bologna. One of my jobs is to go around to the presidents and meet with the mayors of all of the major cities where American companies are located and talk to them about some of the issues. Sometimes it’s anything from zoning, some particular issue on red tape to some of the bigger issues. I know that Rome, for example, is working on like the payback issue with pharmaceuticals. Luckily, we’re pushing on an open door in terms of working with local officials that have been very supportive and welcoming. As a result, we have had a lot of good success and I’m grateful for that.
During your career you have been overseas in various different postings: Pakistan, Brazil, the Dominican Republic. In what way does a posting like this in Italy differ from your prior diplomatic experiences?
This is likely my very favorite posting. I have been very fortunate to have had good postings and have really enjoyed every single one. The thing that strikes me most about this one is the fact that—and this I cannot take this for granted everywhere I have been—is that we have shared values and shared history. At the end of the day, we, the United States, fought side by side with Italian partisans 80 years ago. Add to that we have all of the American citizens who consider themselves part of the Italian diaspora. And so, we have very strong ties to Italy and the same beliefs in terms of democracy, commitment to human rights, freedom of speech, all of those things that keep us lashed together and really strengthen our people-to-people ties. I have really appreciated that. At the end of the day, I look out the window and I know that I am looking at the birthplace of the Renaissance, so this city and region has so many centers of excellence. The art and culture, and then it’s also industrial. There are so many great things and that’s not always the case in some of the more developing places where I have served and the tougher places where I have lived.
How are you settling into life in Florence and how do you find the city’s international community? Are we welcoming?
Yes, you are! I feel like I have been welcomed with open arms here and I am very grateful to all the people who have extended themselves who I don’t feel necessarily have had to be as welcoming as they have been. In the grand scheme of things, consuls general are here for short periods of time, and so I know that it’s hard to welcome me and whoever my successor is and whoever was before, but I do feel like both the expatriate community and, very importantly, the Tuscan community have been very welcoming.
The last time I visited the Consulate, in the line outside a mother was about to apply for passports for her kids. Another lady had lost her passport and was looking a bit panicky until a member of your team kindly came out and helped her. Can you remind us about the various services provided by the U.S. Consulate General in Florence?
I’m blessed to have a very strong and welcoming consular team who do a great job on behalf of American citizens, especially those that will sometimes find themselves in distress here in the city. The bread and butter is regular passport renewals and regular visa applications for Italians who either need a visa or third-country nationals who are here in Italy for whatever reason and want to travel to the United States. That’s the day-to-day work, but the reality is a lot of our time actually goes to more emergency situations. I don’t think there’s really a day that goes by where we are open and we don’t have at least one emergency passport. Most days, it’s usually in the double digits, especially in the busier months where somebody has either lost their document or something has happened and they need a new passport in order to travel. We also provide support if people get sick or hurt, and every once in a while, unfortunately somebody is the victim of a crime. We stand by to help them through that tense situation when they might be far from family and friends and their normal sources of support.
It has been reported in the press, including The Florentine, that the U.S. Consulate in Florence, among others in Europe, is facing potential closure. What’s the current situation?
We too have obviously heard the press reports and the rumors that are being reported rather widely. The reality is and what I think the most important thing to remember is that this is not something new. The State Department regularly reviews its operations, and quite honestly that’s the job and the responsibility of the State Department to make sure that we are good stewards of taxpayer funding. This is something that happens every few years regardless. I think this time it just happens to be happening a little bit more publicly. We don’t have any more information at this time and from our perspective I think it’s important for people to know that we are proceeding with business as usual. We are open for business. I am not changing my schedule and we are not changing anything at the Consulate. We are proceeding as we always have because that’s our job, and for us this is not necessarily an unusual situation.
Thank you for clarifying. We’re living in curious times. One American student who recently visited our magazine offices remarked that she felt “unwelcome” in Italy, which we found incredibly sad. What words of reassurance would you give to American citizens residing in Tuscany or study abroad students who are here for a time?
I would just remind them that we have a long, long history with Italy, and those ties are close and they are deep. I do feel bad for this one particular student but, more broadly, I think that it is important for them to get out beyond Florence. So many U.S. programs are based in the city center of Florence and it’s a busy place where people don’t necessarily have time to be welcoming, although I think that they are, all things considering. It’s important to get out and see the rest of Tuscany. It’s important to note that Mayor Funaro has a program called Florence Is Alive, as well as several other programs that are really focused on reminding, not just Americans, but all of the visitors that the city is a living museum, that it’s important not just to take in what Florence has to offer, but to give back. My other comment to the broader expat community is that if they have the opportunity to give back to Florence, I bet you that Florence will give something to them in return.
Daniela Ballard, the U.S. Consul General in Florence at the 2025 Welcome Day in the Salone dei Cinquecento
What are the Consulate’s priorities for the months to come, particularly when it comes to serving the American community in Tuscany and beyond?
At the macro level, our priorities don’t change. It’s always going to be protecting the safety and security of American citizens, and creating a positive operating environment for economic prosperity and political bilateral support. This is a Jubilee year, so we were always expecting a large increase in tourists because of that, mostly to Rome, but most people don’t just go to Rome. They will also travel, hopefully, to other places in Italy and we are very popular for that. I was very saddened to hear about the Pope’s passage and share in the mourning for His Holiness, which will mean a short-term bump in travel to Rome. In general, we are full swing to the start of the height of tourist season here in Tuscany and across Italy, so certainly for the next few months, we will have our hands full, supporting Americans and just making sure that we keep the community safe.
In closing, could you share some of your favourite places in Florence?
I’m the mother of a small child, so I have a very specific lens on that! I like Villa Bardini because it’s got a beautiful view and it’s more of a hidden gem. There are the views of piazzale Michelangelo but not the crowds. My other favorite secret place is NYU. They are very fortunate to have such a beautiful campus. I also really like the Giardino dell’Orticoltura because they have a playground and a bit of a view.
If you are an American citizen in need of assistance, the U.S. Consulate General in Florence team stands ready to help.
Lungarno Vespucci 38
+39 055 266951
Emergency after-hours: +39 06 46741
Visit the Consulate’s website for a complete list of services offered.
