Issue #27
Giulia Sambugaro
Il Tacco 12
I was born in Vicenza – I graduated with honors from the Verona School of Law in 2007 and I worked in a law firm in Verona as a trainee lawyer. I moved to New York in 2010 to attend a master in Law at NYU, from which I graduated in 2011. I am admitted to the New York Bar.
Legal Advisor and International Business Analyst for the Zamperla Group in the US. Working in Zamperla means inevitably “fun” since I deal with amusement rides and amusement parks every day. When I am not working, apart from enjoying NYC with all its restaurants, clubs, museums, events, and outdoor activities, I spend my time organizing dinners and cooking for friends, trading free meals for their feedback and exporting the authentic Italian cuisine here to NYC – I love seeing the satisfaction of guests (Italian and not) when tasting my homemade food!
I grew up in a small city (Vicenza) where everybody knows everybody – and even if I had a good job in Verona, enjoying my time there, I always felt trapped, I was sort of “surviving”… needless to say that in NYC I am, instead, “thriving”. With New York City, it was love at first sight. Therefore, it was a natural (and an emotional) choice – I first came to NYC in 2001 and I knew right away that I had to move here, sooner or later. In addition, I always felt the need to meet new people and new cultures. And New York City is the apotheosis of this need. My friends who live in Italy keep telling me that I have been brave to leave Italy and move here. I don’t share their view: if one feels the way I feel in NYC, it would have been brave to not move here!
Crying with happiness when my flight from Italy landed at JFK on August 4, 2010: I finally made it, I finally moved for good to New York City, my New York City (I have to admit, that my eyes get bright every single time I land to NYC after a trip).
A close friend calls me “batman” because as soon as spring arrives in NYC, I start exploring all the bars, restaurants, lounges, and events located on rooftops. Standing on the top of buildings makes me feel an infinite variety of emotions: a sense of freedom by being “suspended” in the air, in close contact with the sky – powerful like you own this city – curiosity about all the things I can see from there – delight because I simply love the view
I see it as a showcase of what Italians can do abroad and the pride they carry with them in being Italians.
When I moved here for good in 2010 I would not have agreed to be part of this project because I didn’t feel proud of what was happening in Italy back then and didn’t feel the need to export that – after a while things have changed and I started to appreciate everything about the Italian culture: it’s like understanding the value of something just when you lose it – the difference is that, luckily for me, Italy is still there and I enjoy it every time I go back to visit my family and friends. Being seen as an ambassador means to me not only being a supporter of the Italian culture, but showing to Italians that, if you work hard and if you really want it, we can make it everywhere, even in NYC.
