H.E. Ferdinando Salleo, one of the five longest serving Italian diplomats, was appointed Ambassador of Italy to the United States on November 9, 1995. 
He was born in Messina (Sicily) in 1936, and entered the Italian Foreign Service in 1960, soon after getting his Laurea (M.A. degree) from the Law School of the University of Rome. He first served in Paris, then in New York as Consul, then in Prague. In 1972 he came back to the States as counselor at the Embassy in Washington D.C. He later served in the Political Department of his Ministry, from where he moved to Bonn as Minister Counselor. In 1979 he was first appointed deputy Director General of the Department for Economic Cooperation and Development Aid of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Rome. In 1985, he was appointed Director General of the same Department. His experience in Economic and Financial Affairs brought him to accept the post of Head of the Italian Permanent Mission to the OECD (the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in 1986. He then returned to Rome at the head of the Economic Affairs Department. From 1989 to 1993 he served as Ambassador of Italy in Moscow, during the Gorbatchev era and the downfall of the Soviet Union. The top post of Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was his last assignment in Rome, before being appointed to Washington D.C. 
 Ambassador Salleo has been a visiting professor at the University of Florence and a professor at Rome University. Over the last five years, he has had several opportunities to meet groups of scholars and students as key-note speakers in different parts of the Country.
 He is the author of a diplomatic history study on the genesis of the State of Albania (1913), which was published by Sellerio (Palermo) in the year 2000. 
 While the Ambassador and Mrs. Anne Marie Salleo live in Washington, their son Alberto is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate of Materials Science an Engineering at Livermore (CA).

World leaders have bestowed honors on Commander DePinedo, including the presentation of the British Royal Air Force Cross in 1927.  An article from the 23 June, 1927 issue of the British Magazine "Flight" in which the following reference is made:

"Although establishing no recognized world's records, the flight just completed by the Marquis of Pinedo is in many ways one of the most remarkable in the history of aviation.  While recently several land aeroplanes have covered great distances over the sea, Pinedo has covered greater over land in a seaplane...In every way, the Marquis of Pinedo is to be congratulated on his splendid achievement, and the honour bestowed upon him by His Majesty King George by awarding him the Air Force Cross will be heartily welcomed by British aviation in general, which sees in it a fitting expression of the admiration and esteem with which the gallant Marquis is held in this country."

The event has been organized by Italian Consul General Enrico Granara with the participation and support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Italian Trade Commission, the Italian Government Tourist Board, and numerous local, national, and international Italian and Italian American organizations, institutes, and private businesses. Notable guests will include Italian Ambassador Ferdinando Salleo, Mayor Daley, and Countess Maria Fede Caproni, daughter of Italian aircraft builder Gianni Caproni and founder of the famous Caproni Aviation Museum in Trento.

"After arriving in Chicago in 1999", Granara stated, " several of the more historically-minded members of the Italian American community recalled my attention to De Pinedo and his role in one of early aviation’s most extraordinary episodes of valor, courage and initiative. The first European aviator to fly to the United States, he landed here after having flown across the Atlantic from Africa to Brazil in a Savoia Marchetti seaplane which had been christened, quite symbolically, the Santa Maria."

The day’s events will begin with the opening of an exhibit of Italian aviation memorabilia at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, after which Dr. Gregory Alegi, one of the leading European authorities on early aviation history, will lecture on the details of De Pinedo’s achievements. Alegi’s presentation will be followed later that afternoon by the official opening at the Richard J. Daley Center of an exhibit entitled "Wings of Italy", featuring 44 original, Futurist-style Italian aviation posters from the years 1910 through 1943. Currently on display at the Estorick Gallery of London, this rare collection is part of the Massimo & Sonia Cirulli Archive of New York, and will be available for viewing by the general public from May 16th to June 15th, 2002 at the Daley Center. 

"The exhibit offers a thematic overview of three decades of Italian aviation activity that coincided with three, critical and decisive epochs of Italy’s history, specifically World War I, the rise of Fascism, and the subsequent events that led to the Second World War", noted Granara. "The exhibit and the other events of the day constitute an invitation from the Italian and Italian American communities to all Chicagoans to call to mind a seldom remembered but glorious page from the history of this great city, written by a small crew of intrepid, Italian aviators under the command of Colonel De Pinedo."

The May 15th commemoration will conclude with an outdoor concert in tribute to De Pinedo featuring Italian patriotic and thematic music performed by Caliendo’s Banda Napoletana under the sponsorship of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. The 45 minute concert will begin at 6:30 PM at the Daley Plaza and will be open to attendance by the general public.

Subsequent to the Chicago celebrations, De Pinedo will again be the focus of commemorative activities in St. Louis, New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Madison, Wisconsin. The St. Louis events, sponsored by the "Italy at St. Louis" electronic news magazine (www.italystl.com) and the Federation of Italian American Organizations, will include a lecture by Dr. Alegi and an exhibit of fifty-one photographs from the Italian Air Force Historical Office chronicling De Pinedo’s American tour. Detailed information on De Pinedo and all of the upcoming commemorative events can be found at http://www.italystl.com/pride/.

Italic Institute of America representatives and Fra Noi correspondents Don Fiore and Robert Allegrini, both long-time admirers of De Pinedo and members of the commemoration’s planning committee, credited Granara with what they view as the crucial first steps toward restoring the forgotten aviator’s place in history. "About 20 years ago, I came across an old recording of a 1927 song entitled "’l Volo di De Pinedo’ which recounted the exploits of some great Italian aviator of whom I had previously never heard a word", said Fiore. "I started to suspect some artistic exaggeration, since there was utterly no mention of him in any of the English language aviation histories that I subsequently consulted. But when I checked newspapers from 1927, there he was all over the front page.

"Like Garibaldi, De Pinedo can be viewed as an almost ‘perfect hero’ and one who should serve as a powerful, inspirational icon to all Italian Americans, especially in our struggle against the ongoing brutalization of the Italian and Italian American image by the entertainment and pop culture media. The Consul General has launched the first, visible initiative in over seventy years to return this hero to the Italian American community. Hopefully, the community will respond with all due appreciation and support."

END

AMERICAN AIRLINES       ticket for Dr. Alegi
NIAF (2)        insurance for posters (period May 15/June 15)
NIAF (3)        printing of invitations (Buddy Romano)
NIAF (4)        catering for IIC lecture/press conf. May 15 (Cirrincione)
Phil Stefani (around 70 persons including VIP guests)

[other pledges - estimated]
Turano Bakeries             [not specified]
Ivo Cozzini                     [not specified]
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Total so far                           $38,700