Tilman Fertitta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, is yet to move into Villa Taverna, according to Italian-media reports. The sumptuous Roman villa—which over the centuries has hosted cardinals, future saints, royal courts, students, and even an army, and since 1933 has served as the residence of the most important diplomat in town—is rumored to have been deemed a dump uninhabitable by the Texas multi-billionaire, who insists it needs major renovation. He has allegedly taken up residence on Boardwalk, his 250-foot-long yacht sailing under the flag of the Cayman Islands and moored in the port of Civitavecchia, some 60 miles north of Rome.
Fertitta’s helicopter commute has quickly become the latest buzz in Rome’s power circles. It was the hottest topic at the July 4 reception that marked his official debut before virtually the entire Meloni government—heels clicking in protocol precision—and a few thousand hamburger-nibbling members of Rome’s elite, and has earned him the reputation of a Martian in Rome, reminiscent of the figure in Ennio Flaiano’s 1954 satirical short story, in which a gentle alien lands in town, causing a media uproar.
