Giulia Casalboni is the perfect candidate for a great career as an actress, but unfortunately Casalboni maintains a bit of an identity crisis when it comes to her sense of nationality. In her book “Navel Ring” she relates how she started following her American boyfriend to Italy, in part because of the scenic landscape that captures her imagination. However, at almost every location she goes, she encounters locals who do not seem to know her or even speak English, which prompts her to observe, “Maybe they didn’t come here to get away from everything else. Maybe they’re stuck–terrified, scared, sick of the world.”
Casalboni has said that ethnicity is much more than color; in fact, she sees herself and her ethnicity as a kind of rarefied species. She understands that ethnicity is more than heritage or bloodline, but not race. Unfortunately, the United States government doesn’t view things that way; Casalboni is subjected to strange glances when she enters American-owned buildings. One such incident involved a group of tourists who recognized her in a park and approached her. Giulia then told the group that she was an American, and they responded by asking their guest if they could speak with the President. Once Casalboni gave out her Social Security number, the group was turned away.
Giulia Casalboni may have a great body, but she lacks a sense of worth that affects those who look up to her. Her height is certainly an asset; as is her Italian heritage, but a sense of nationality that comes with being a U.S. citizen should not be overlooked. After all, isn’t America the greatest nation ever created in the history of the human race? Is the Statue of Liberty even the real thing? And what price does a real sense of citizenship have?