Rossana Alvaro, lawyer and Italian vice-consul in Ibiza: “Ibiza is not just nightlife and I want to change that idea in Italy”

After eight months closed, the Italian vice-consulate in Ibiza is resuming its activity in Vara de Rey with Rossana Alvaro at the helm. A lawyer and resident on the island for the past six years, she takes on the role of vice-consul as a voluntary position serving the Italian community.

Why has the vice-consulate been closed during these months?

I do not know. I only know that the reopening forms part of the new stage of the Italian Consulate in Barcelona, headed by Gabriele Luca Fava, who has promoted changes in the consulates under his jurisdiction so that they operate more quickly and efficiently. The office was ready in December, but the exequatur, the document that allows me to carry out the role, only arrived a few days ago.

How many Italians currently live on the island?

There are more every year. We are now at around 5,000 residents, but in summer this number doubles. When the presence of Italians increases, so does consular assistance.

What are the main procedures they request?

Most are administrative, especially document renewals for residents. In summer, with the increase in tourists, lost documents are also common. In addition, there are cases linked to legal problems, such as detainees or people who need advice.

How can people contact the vice-consulate? Do they need an appointment?

Normally, yes. The vice-consulate is open in the afternoon, but in an emergency I am available. For example, if someone is detained, that person can choose whether or not they want to notify the consulate, and we can inform the family. If there is a death, they also call us.

What are the most common legal problems here?

I often see that Italians do not really know how the regulations work here. It happens to me a lot with gender-based violence cases. In Spain, women are very well protected and sometimes Italians have an argument, they are arrested and they do not understand what has happened.

Do you have figures on how many cases like this there have been?

No, I am only speaking from my experience as a lawyer. The behaviour is not always physical violence. It may be something the woman perceives as harassment or even neighbours hearing an argument and calling the police.

What administrative difficulties do Italians living in Ibiza encounter?

Most have to do with registration in AIRE, the mandatory register for Italians living abroad, or with the possibility of getting a duplicate passport. With Samantha Silvestri, who is my colleague, we try to make everything faster and attend to citizens in an empathetic way.

Does the way Spanish bureaucracy works make procedures more difficult?

I cannot complain because I find a great deal of cooperation from the institutions for anything I need. The greater difficulty lies in making the Italian Government aware that Italians live here, but getting the NIE and those kinds of things is very straightforward.

What attracts Italians to stay and live on the island?

I moved here before Covid. I thought it would be temporary, but I discovered an incredible place to live and raise my children. It really surprises me that sometimes people do not realise that Ibiza is not just nightclubs. The island can offer you so many things.

Do you think the Ibizan population welcomes Italians well?

I feel like one of them. I have never felt discriminated against because of my Spanish or because of my work.

Is there any stereotype about Italians that you would like to dismantle?

Sometimes there is a bad reputation, because in summer there are always sad news stories about drugs or deaths, but Italians are very good people on the island. They invest, work and give a lot to Ibiza. They are also very grateful to be able to live in such a wonderful place.

What is the profile of those who live here?

Most are well-established families, with children at school and learning Catalan.

How does the housing problem affect them?

There are Italians who own homes, and they are the majority, but for a young person to come and work for the season is impossible, because they cannot afford the rent. Sometimes they manage to find a rental in winter, but they have to leave it in summer. It is very sad, because it would be a wonderful place for young people who want to come and work, but the island does not allow them to do so.

Are there Italians living in settlements?

Not many, fortunately. We have helped a few with administrative procedures, documents and some vulnerability reports. Ibiza can be all cool and glamorous, but that reality also exists and must be faced.

What advice would you give to an Italian who wants to live here?

The important thing when moving anywhere is to study the traditions and the language and respect them. When you move somewhere, you have to do so without prejudice. You have to love and respect the place. I think Ibiza is the best place in the world to live because of the people, the nature and the quality of life.

In addition to consular assistance, what other goals have you set for this stage?

I am very interested in creating a relationship between the Balearic Islands and Italy. There are products from the islands that I would like to take abroad and products from Italy, particularly from Calabria, Sicily and the whole south, that I want to make known here.

How can that be promoted?

By helping entrepreneurs to move forward, or through food fairs. Sometimes bureaucracy can be a little intimidating. Ibiza is not just nightlife and I want to change that idea. In Italy, sometimes, it is not valued as it deserves to be.