Talk:Leonardo Vitetti

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Dear Sirs, I am completely re-writing the article on " Leonardo Vitetti ". I hope I'm doing it correctly. Anyway, I should know what I'm talking about, as I'm his son, already mentioned by you in the current text. Best regards, E.G. Vitetti

Leonardo Vitetti was born December 15th 1894 in Locri ( southern Italy ). His early youth was passed in his native province, Calabria. In 1918, a budding journalist, he was appointed Director of the Italian Government Office of Information in Washington DC.

Having obtained a law degree at Rome University in July 1922, he entered the diplomatic service a year later. In 1923 he was posted to the Italian delegation at the League of Nations in Geneva, and thence, in July 1925, to the Italian Embassy in Washington, where he remained until 1930. At this time he published several books about the United States ( " The Politics of President Harding ", " Warren G. Harding ", " The Washington Conference " and " The Origins of the Anglo-American Conflict ", as well as articles on U.S. history and institutions for the Italian " Enciclopedia Treccani ".

In 1931, already First Secretary, he returned to the League of Nations and, in November of the same year, accompanied the Foreign Minister Dino Grandi on an official visit to Washington, Philadelphia and New York. In the course of this trip, Minister Grandi and he extracted from President Hoover an invitation for Mussolini to visit the U.S. In October 1932, he was transferred to the Embassy in London as Minister Counsellor.

On May 19th 1934, he married into American high society. The bride was Natalie Mai Coe, daughter of William R. Coe, millionaire sportsman and Mai Rogers, daughter of Henry H. Rogers, philanthropist and one of the founders of Standard Oil. The wedding took place at " Planting Fields ", the splendid Coe estate at Oyster Bay, Long Island.

Vitetti and his bride returned to London, where, for the greater part of a year he handled relations with the British Foreign Office, with the delicate situation of Italy's growing involvement in Ethiopia. Named Minister Plenipotentiary, he returned to Rome in 1936 to become Director General of Political Affairs, a post he held until 1943.

In August of 1936, his father, Section President of the Council of State, was named Count by the King of Italy. The family already held, since 1775, the Papal title of Count, not recognized by unified Italy.

From 1937 to 1943 he was present at all international meetings. With several of his colleagues, mostly married to foreignh wives, he worked constantly at keeping Italy out of the war, earning, together with his Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, the undying emnity of the Germans.

In the summer of 1943, Fascism fell and the Germans occupied Italy. He went into hiding, while his office at the Foreign Ministry was ransacked by the Gestapo. In New york from November 1946 to May 1947 withthe delegation for the liquidation of the ex-Italian colonies in Africa, and in 1949 in Washington at the F.A.O.Assembly, a conference which resulted in Rome being chosen as the seat of that organization.

Promoted to the rank of Ambassador in 1955, he was appointed Ambassador to the O.E.E.C. inJanuary 1955, to the U.N. in June 1956 and to Paris in 1958. He retired in June 1961 and died in Rome, May 14th 1973. The Vitettis are survived by a son, Ernesto Guglielmo ( born London, October 24th 1935 ) and two grandchildren, Ludovico Barnaba and Georgia.–--81.73.172.222 14:18, 2 August 2006 (UTC)Ernesto G. Vitetti

This segement was added to the main page as seen above, but I've moved it here. You shouldn't sign your name or address the reader directly (Dear Sirs...) on the main page, and ideally your contribution should be merged with the current one (that is, put the information where it is relevant on the main article rather than just pasting it all into "external links".) Also, be careful with indenting the paragraphs. It tends to mess wikipedia up. --Zagsa 14:23, 2 August 2006 (UTC)