As of this writing, it has been 593 days since an American ambassador has inhabited the Villa Taverna, their official residence in Rome. Ever since the financier and Republican donor Lewis Eisenberg moved out at the end of Donald Trump’s administration on January 21, 2021, no one has replaced him. President Joe Biden never nominated anyone, which raised eyebrows both in American foreign policy circles and in Italy. The Romans I’ve spoken to are furious and see it as a sign of unprecedented disrespect, especially at a time when Washington is asking its European allies—including countries dependent on Russian gas, like Italy—to hold the line on anti-Russian sanctions. “It’s the only G7 country with no U.S. ambassador,” one American diplomatic insider told me. “I know the Italians are unhappy and they should be, given the situation politically and what’s going on with Russia.” Given that Russia is rumored to have had a hand in the collapse of Mario Draghi’s sanctions-friendly coalition government this summer, the fact that Washington doesn’t have a representative on the ground is more than embarrassing. It’s downright negligent.