With two post-graduate degrees under his belt, the newly appointed Consul General of Italy in Bengaluru is no stranger to exam stress, but something recently took him right back to those times: wine sommelier exams. “I graduated in July after writing three different exams, it was kind of scary to back and feel that anxiety,” laughs Giandomenico Milano, as a spread of Italian snacks, including tiny amaretti, cannoli and pieces of focaccia beckon the reporters gathered for an informal chat with him.
He adds, “I’ve always had an interest in wine and the culture behind it. This programme was two years of studying the chemistry, geography and the history of it. It was fascinating.”
It’s been a busy three months for Milano, with getting settled into a new city with his wife and two kids and planning one of his first major events as the Consul General – The Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. He notes that the initiative is far more than a culinary celebration and describes it as an expression of Italian culture, identity and values. Bengaluru’s dynamic dining landscape, he observes, makes it an ideal setting for such a cultural exchange.
Welcoming chef Italo Bassi, he adds, enhances the programme’s significance, with his Michelin recognition, deep grounding in Italian tradition and contemporary creative flair.
Sharing his first impressions of the city, Milano says, “I’d say there’s no better place than Bengaluru, even though I’m a bit biased. I think we Italians and Bengalureans have a lot of energy and the same values rooted in tradition and innovation.” It’s this mix he wants his tenure in Bengaluru to embody. He says, “When people think of Italy, they think of food, fashion, art and history which we are happy about but more than that, Italy is also always reinventing itself in areas like robotics, aerospace and design innovation. We recently had a strong Italian presence at Bangalore Tech Summit too.” Even though there are just ‘roughly 100 Italians’ in the city, many of whom Milano has met, he reveals, “Surprisingly, there are also 100 Italian companies in the city involved in a mix of IT, innovation, food and hospitality.”
Milano, who grew up in the Molise region in Southern Italy nestled between Rome and Naples, describes it as a ‘not very well-known but an authentic place rooted in tradition’. He adds, “I had a very free upbringing in the countryside and a happy childhood but I wanted to see the world. Perhaps that’s been one of the drivers to have this career – to connect and discover.”
That desire to discover led him to jobs at embassies in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka before bringing him to Bengaluru, but this is not his first brush with India. “When I was in Sri Lanka, India was close so I travelled to Delhi, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Kerala and saw the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Ajanta Ellora caves in Maharashtra. Travelling gives you flexibility and opens your mind to face any counterpart,” he says. However, his favourite has been a recent trip to Mysuru, as he says, “I went during Vijayadashami – the palace was stunning and the parade impressive.”
Milano also has plans for events across music, art, and technology. A multilingual speaker of Spanish, Italian, English, and French, one area of interest is language, as he explains, “There are not many Italian speakers in Bengaluru and the South compared to North India so we’d really like to encourage that. We’re looking into organising opportunities to meet and have conversations with an Italian speaker.”
Has he picked up any Indian languages? Milano says, “I try to include a few Kannada phrases in speeches with the help of my colleagues, but I need to improve! So far, my biggest problem has been with learning the alphabet.”
With that, it was time to say ciao (and namaskara) to the Consul General, the sweetness of amaretti lingering on the tongue with the promise to return for more tastes of Italy that he hopes to bring to ooru.