1980 - 1987

After the Partenopean interlude, Secretary General Malfatti decided for him for the far more important Embassy in Bonn. Luigi Vittorio and his wife Giovanna arrived in Bonn, on January 14, 1980, by train from Frankfurt (an original choice, to say the least) with the Intercity “Germania” and the Station Chief in full uniform waiting on the platform together with the Foreign Ceremonial and the Embassy's diplomatic staff!

 

From 1980 to 1987 Luigi Vittorio, Ambassador in Bonn, travels all over the territory with very frequent visits everywhere, and talks with all the Länder Presidents, local personalities, many Mayors, and many important cultural institutes, such as the Bertelsmann Stiftung or the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. He frequently visits and lectures at almost all universities, where he is received with special attention especially because Herr Professor und Kollege, is the only Italian member of the Association of University Professors.

 

He makes intensive political contacts there and also with political figures from Italy. Significant is his insertion into German politics and with frequent appearances on television and radio programs and very frequent interviews in newspapers as well as countless contributions to collected books (over a hundred) where his signature is sought after and appreciated. Indeed, he is a sought-after commentator and thus many speeches and lectures with continuous participation in the activities of cultural institutions, from Europa Union to Aspen or Koerner Stiftung or Bertelsmann Stiftung, as well as as an honored speaker in many important German institutions and press, radio and television interviews and frequent participation in talk-shows, for which he is a sought-after guest.

 

He ensures his presence at fairs of all kinds with much appreciation from Italian exhibitors. After all, thanks to the prestige he acquired, such activity would continue even after he ceased to serve as Ambassador for a large part of the 1990s. From that period there are also numerous articles in political and scientific journals.

Particular attention is paid to the communities of Italians, which he visits frequently and with personal success, especially in Wolfsburg, a city symbolic of the presence of Italian workers in Germany. He manages to establish direct contact with Italian communities no longer mediated by politicized organizations, which are considered unrepresentative. For the same reason he opposed the establishment of elected workers' committees, considering them useless, something that would find confirmation in the facts after his departure from Germany.

A 'successful activity remembered even after many decades is summarized in a book of his in German, “Wenn schon denn schon,” which sold over ten thousand copies. On December 1, 1988, the book was presented in Bonn by Foreign Minister Genscher, an unusual recognition, and also cited by former Chancellors Schmidt and Kohl.