As the Made in Italy Expo prepares for Atlanta in September 2026, Liguria has the opportunity to transform cultural presence into economic access, connecting ports, industry, innovation, and the growing markets of the American Southeast.
For decades, Italian regional promotion in the United States has often revolved around culture, tourism, and heritage. These remain powerful assets. Yet the economic geography of America is changing, and with it the opportunities for regions that understand how to combine identity with market access. The American Southeast has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economic areas in the United States. Atlanta has become one of its principal business capitals, connecting manufacturing, logistics, technology, aerospace, food, and international investment.
This September, the Made in Italy Expo in Atlanta offers an opportunity that extends beyond a traditional trade event.
For Liguria, it may represent something more important: a gateway. Rooted in centuries of maritime history, international trade, industrial capability, and entrepreneurial culture, Liguria possesses many of the assets increasingly sought by the American market. Ports, logistics, blue economy, energy, food excellence, design, tourism, and advanced manufacturing all align with sectors experiencing substantial growth throughout the Southeast. Atlanta sits at the center of that ecosystem. The city serves as a major transportation hub, home to multinational corporations, logistics operators, innovation centers, and one of the world's busiest airports. Its influence extends across Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas, creating access to a market of more than eighty million people.
The opportunity is not simply to export products.
It is to build relationships.
This requires a different approach to internationalization. Not a trade mission measured by the number of business cards collected, but a platform capable of generating long-term connections among institutions, companies, universities, investors, and innovation ecosystems. The Made in Italy Expo can become that platform. The combination of Italian identity and American growth creates a compelling narrative: rooted in Italy, flourishing in Georgia. For Ligurian companies, this could mean exploring partnerships in logistics, maritime services, energy technologies, hospitality, advanced manufacturing, education, and innovation. For institutions, it offers the possibility of strengthening relationships with one of the most dynamic regions of the United States. For younger generations, it demonstrates that internationalization today is not only about selling abroad, but about participating in ecosystems.
The future relationship between Liguria and the American Southeast may not begin in a boardroom. It may begin in Atlanta. And from there, extend toward Florida, Washington, and the broader Americas. Sometimes the most important gateways are not geographic.
They are relational.
Roberto Masiero
