The Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda in Spain

Dario Item Ambassador

Ambassador Dario Item (Naples, June 28, 1972) is a Swiss and Antiguan and Barbudan lawyer and diplomat. He is descended from an ancient and noble Swiss family originally from Malans and Bonaduz in the Canton of Graubünden transplanted in 1800 to Naples, in what was then the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. His ancestors all held high positions in Swiss regiments serving the Bourbon-Two Sicilies royal house, to which the Item family has always been particularly devoted. His great-great-grandfather Vincenzo Item was multi-decorated with a double gold medal in the Battle of Gaeta (1860-1861). Great-grandfather Aurelio Item is credited with the discovery in Pompeii of the Villa dei Misteri, originally called Villa Item. 

Dr. Dario Item attended compulsory and high school in Lugano, Switzerland. He then attended the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the Universities of Parma, Ferrara, Teramo and Genoa in Italy. Dr. Item holds both a law degree (1996) and a degree in political science (2004), a Master’s degree in Trust law (2005) and in Legal psychology and psychopathology of criminal conducts (2006), a PhD in Criminal Law (2009) and an LL.M in International Financial Crimes (2012). In 1998 he passed in Lugano, at the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Ticino, the bar examination and in 1999 that of public notary. In 2001, in Rome, he passed the exam aimed at qualifying to practice law in Italy.  

Since 1998 he has been active as an international lawyer specializing in criminal law, trust law, banking law, and diplomatic and consular law. In 2015 he moved to London where he opened a branch of his law firm. In 2016 he joined the diplomatic corps of Antigua and Barbuda assuming the position of Consul General and since 2018 the functions of Head of Mission at the Embassy in Madrid.

He has published various academic contributions on trust law (https://jusletter.weblaw.ch/juslissues/2010/572/_8428.html__ONCE&login=false – https://www.schulthess.com/buchshop/detail/ISBN-9783727287633/Item-Dario/I-trusts-di-protezione-patrimoniale), banking and money laundering law (https://www.deutsche-buchhandlung.de/details/9788834116913/money-laundering-legal-privilege-and-int/) and criminal law (https://www.repository.unipr.it/handle/1889/1006?mode=full)

Dr. Item is fluent in Italian, French, German, English and Spanish

Ambassador Item has been accredited by H.S.H. Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein on 13 December 2018. See: List of diplomatic corps accredited to the Principality of Liechtenstein | See: Pictures Presentation of Credentials to H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois Von und zu Liechtenstein

He has been accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain on 21 June 2018 and presented his credentials to the King of Spain, His Majesty Felipe VI on 16 January 2019. See: List of diplomatic corps accredited to the Kingdom of spain | See: Pictures  Presentation of Credentials to His Majesty Felipe VI, King of Spain

On 28 February 2019, Ambassador Item has been accredited by H.S.H. Prince Albert II of the Principality of Monaco. See: List of diplomatic corps accredited to the Principality of Monaco | See: Pictures Presentation of Credentials to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco

Lastly, on 21 January 2022, Ambassador Item has been accredited as Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda Permanent Mission to the UNWTO. See: Pictures Presentation of Credentials to H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili

Ambassador Dario Item has been married since 2000 and is a father of 4 children. 

Awards and recognition

  • Grand Collar –  O.M. of the Portuguese Royal House
  • Grand Collar –  R.O. of the Eagle of Georgia
  • Knight Grand Cross – R.O. of St. Michael of the Wing
  • Knight Grand Cross – R.O. of the I.C. of Vila Viçosa
  • Knight Grand Cross – Order of Emperor Menelik II
  • Great Star – R.O.C. of the Georgian Kingdom
  • Senator Grand Badge – R.O. of Queen Tamara
  • Caballero – Maestranza de Caballería de Castilla
  • Caballero – Órden del Tercio de Extranjeros
  • Medal – Real Cuerpo de la Nobleza del Principado de Asturias
  • Medal – Cruz de Distinción del Ejército de Asturias
  • Medal – 1300° A. Proclamación del Rey Don Pelayo
  • Medal – Regimiento de Infantería Asturias n. 31