Meta description: Undersecretary Massimo Dell’Utri, following Tajani's criticisms, praises the Italian tie up to the fourth generation in Brazil and acknowledges structural problems at the consulates.

Massimo Dell’Utri, Undersecretary of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina) for policies in favor of Italians worldwide, visited São Paulo and Porto Alegre and stated that in Brazil the Italian identity is transmitted up to the fourth generation, while at the same time acknowledging structural problems at the consulates that affect service to descendants.

Context and main statements: Massimo Dell’Utri and the Fourth Generation

During the visit to São Paulo and Porto Alegre, Dell’Utri highlighted that the Italian presence in Brazil maintains a strong identitarian trait across generations. According to Insieme, the undersecretary stated that it is possible to observe the transmission of values, customs, and cultural ties up to the fourth generation of descendants in the country. Besides this recognition of cultural continuity, Dell’Utri admitted that the Italian consulates face structural difficulties that hinder service and administrative processes related to the Italian community abroad.

The statements were made in public meetings and discussions with community representatives, where the undersecretary sought both to value the bonds and to map practical problems — especially those affecting consular services and requests from those seeking to regularize status or obtain information about rights. Dell’Utri's remarks were released by Insieme and reported on channels of the Italian community in Brazil.

Public reaction and comparison with Antonio Tajani's comments

The undersecretary's statements came days after remarks by the President of the Council of Ministers and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, in which he linked citizenship requests to shopping trips and questioned what he called the abandonment of Italian-ness across generations, according to Insieme. The sequence of statements sparked reactions in Brazil: analyst Daniel Taddone criticized both positions and likened the rhetoric to an empty repetition — referring to Dalida's classic, "Parole, parole, parole."

The exchange highlights a public debate about identity, migration, and policies for Italians abroad, with repercussions among descendants who follow changes and discourses coming from Rome. For readers interested in updates on Italy's political and community scene, the Italy News desk Notícias da Itália offers related coverage.

Relevance for Brazilian descendants: Italian citizenship and consular impact

Dell’Utri's words carry symbolic meaning about the cultural continuity between Italy and Brazil. However, it is essential to highlight the current legal framework to avoid mistaken conclusions about practical effects on citizenship recognition:

• Since the Tajani Decree (DL 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025), there have been significant and restrictive changes to access administrative avenues for citizenship recognition. Importantly, the consular route has been restricted and is no longer available to great-grandchildren and later generations; consulates now focus on children and grandchildren of Italians.
• Administrative recognition directly in many comuni in Italy for applicants residing abroad is no longer a widely available path due to the rules and practices implemented after the decree.
• The judicial route remains available to challenge decisions or seek recognition, but operates in a separate branch and with its own procedural rules; the decree also affected the legal framework, so strategies and chances depend on specialized legal analysis.
• The Tajani Decree is restrictive and entails material retroactivity as per its wording: in addition to regulating procedures, it states that people born abroad who are not children or grandchildren of Italians were never Italian, which affects the right itself (retroactive to birth). Proceedings filed before the decree took effect are protected by the text of the provision, but the issue of the decree's material retroactivity is central and complex and has been the subject of judicial controversy.

Therefore, even though Dell’Utri's symbolic emphasis on identitarian ties is politically relevant, it does not by itself alter the legal limitations introduced by DL 36/2025/Law 74/2025. Those seeking practical guidance should obtain updated legal counsel and official sources; informational guides and materials will only be useful if they explicitly reflect these legal changes and current consular and administrative limitations.

What became clear during the visit

• Dell’Utri emphasized that the cultural and identitarian bond between Italy and Brazil persists across generations, reaching the fourth generation in the undersecretary's understanding.
• Public acknowledgment was given that the consulates face structural problems affecting service to the community.
• The statements were made in a tense context, just days after Antonio Tajani's comments questioning the maintenance of Italian-ness among descendants — a reaction that drew public criticism, such as from Daniel Taddone.

The visit and remarks open space for further debate on public policies for Italians abroad and on how to resolve consular bottlenecks that have a direct impact on requests and the institutional relationship between Brazil and Italy. The episode also reinforces attention to the citizenship issue, which continues to mobilize descendants and appears frequently in reports and community discussions.

Source: Insieme