A Day in the Life of a Diplomat We speak to the Ambassador of Italy to Australia, Her Excellency Ambassador Francesca Tardioli by Hayley J. Egan
W
hen we speak of the relationship between Italy and Australia there is much going on behind the scenes, and much of this responsibility rests in the hands of Her Excellency Ambassador Francesca Tardioli, Ambassador of Italy to Australia since September 2019. Proud mother of two sons, she’s a keen swimmer and diver, a lover of literature and visual arts, and when asked to name the women who have inspired her, she gives a satisfyingly eclectic list including Amina J. Mohammed, Rita Levi Montalcini, Grazia Deledda and Maria Montessori. She also mentions the molecular physicist, Fabiola Gianotti, first woman to become Director-General at CERN in Switzerland, and three researchers who isolated COVID-19 in early February 2020, Doctors Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Francesca Colavita and Concetta Castilletti. With pride, she speaks of The Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, with which she has been involved since its inception in 2017. An initiative that involves a gendered perspective of mediation and peacebuilding between nations, the network allows women to share ideas and work together. «Diplomacy is certainly team-
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LIFSTYLE & TRADITIONS
work» she reminds me. It’s important to her that I recognise that the relationships between nations are maintained by a group of hardworking diplomats. When I ask about their daily workload, I begin to worry that this team might not be getting enough sleep. «A day in the life of a diplomat is characterised by an early start,» the Ambassador says with a laugh, «and this is largely because of the different time zones. The first thing to do after waking is to check the Italian news and find out what happened overnight. Then there is finding out what happened in Australia. There are meetings between state leaders to discuss common interests. Promotional and cultural activities. Communication with the five consulate offices in Australia, two Italian Institutes of Culture and all the other actors of the institutional Italian network, such as the Italian Trade Agency, the Italian National Tourist Board and the Italian Chambers of Commerce. And then there are the things that just come up suddenly, that need to be addressed.» I think about what came up “suddenly” just a few months into Ambassador Tardioli’s most recent posting. «We have all had to adapt our work methods,» she says. «Diplomacy in the past
Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021
