Samuel Alito: From Italian Roots to US Supreme Court Justice

A Story of Resilience and Excellence: Justice Alito’s Italian Roots

An image, recounted by journalists who visited his study in Washington, best describes Samuel Anthony Alito Jr.: on the fireplace, alongside sports memorabilia, a place of honor is reserved for an old birth certificate and a photograph of a road sign. That certificate belongs to Salvatore Alati, a child born in 1914 in Saline Joniche, Calabria, and arrived in America as an immigrant; the photo depicts that small village overlooking the Ionian Sea. Salvatore Alati would become Samuel Alito Sr., and his son today sits on one of the nine most influential chairs in the world: that of Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Recognition from the Magna Grecia Foundation

This unbreakable connection to his roots prompted the Magna Grecia Foundation to award him the International Magna Grecia Prize, which now occupies a place on the fireplace, next to his father’s birth certificate. The ceremony, held in the majestic Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome, celebrated Alito as an “ideal bridge” between Italy and the United States. The award’s citation reads that the recognition was given for his “extraordinary legal career,” but above all for being an example of a man who, even reaching the heights of global power, never forgot his origins.

Alito thus joins a distinguished roll of honor, including figures such as Prince Albert I of Monaco; Federico Faggin, physicist and inventor of the microprocessor and touchscreen; Mauricio Macri, former President of Argentina; Oscar winner Giuseppe Tornatore; Robert Gallo, physician and biologist known for discovering the retroviral origin of AIDS in 1982; and George Pataki, Governor of New York. Visibly moved, the Justice recalled the courage of his grandparents, defining their story as a living part of his professional identity—a force capable of generating solid institutions and more just societies.

Current Thoughts: Between Democratic Crisis and Controversy

While the award ceremony in Rome celebrated the past and roots, a recent interview with Corriere della Sera shed light on the difficult present facing the United States. Alito did not hide his concern for the state of American democracy on the eve of its 250th anniversary.

According to Alito, the constitutional system is experiencing a dangerous friction. “It’s very difficult to pass laws in Congress due to polarization,” he explained. This legislative stalemate pushes Presidents—from Obama to Trump, to Biden—to extend their powers “to the limit and beyond the limit” through executive orders. In this scenario, the Supreme Court often finds itself having to act as an arbitrator in extreme political conflicts, a position Alito considers delicate but necessary to maintain the balance of powers.

The Justice responded firmly to the criticism leveled at the Court following the Dobbs ruling, which overturned the federal right to abortion (the historic Roe v. Wade). Alito defined international reactions as “misinformed,” emphasizing that the Court did not prohibit abortion, but simply established that the decision rests with representatives elected by the people, as happens in democracies like France or Great Britain.

“Abortion remains a contentious issue,” he admitted, but his vision remains that of a judge who must apply the law, not create it. Finally, Alito addressed the issue of his Catholic faith, often used by critics to question his impartiality. While admitting that faith influences his view of humanity—leading him to treat everyone with the dignity of a “child of God”—he reaffirmed that he swore allegiance only to the Constitution. He did, however, offer a profound reflection: the very idea of inalienable human rights, a cornerstone of American democracy, is an inheritance that the Enlightenment drew directly from the Christian tradition of Europe.

A Legacy in Progress

Samuel Alito today represents one of the most polarizing and, at the same time, consistent figures in the American landscape. Between the tensions of Washington and the recognition received in his Italy, the Justice continues to assert the value of memory. His story suggests that, to lead one of the most powerful institutions on the planet, it is necessary never to lose sight of that small Calabrian village from which it all began.