"[3][13][14][15][16] Dario Item is a descendant of an ancient and noble Swiss family, with roots in Bonaduz and Malans in the Canton of Graubünden.

[12][10] The Item family has a historical connection with Swiss regiments that served the Bourbon - Two Sicilies Royal House, to which they have remained devoted.

His great-great-grandfather, Vincenzo Item, has earned multiple decorations, including a double gold medal in the Battle of Gaeta (1860-1861).

In 2016, he entered the diplomatic corps of Antigua and Barbuda, initially serving as Consul General, and subsequently assuming the role of Head of Mission at the Embassy in Madrid in 2018.

[12] In the aftermath of the Credit Suisse financial scandal resulting in the write-down of CHF 16 billion of AT1 bonds, Dario Item, on May 15, 2023, significantly contributed towards public understanding by publishing crucial documents on Antigua.news, a local media outlet in Antigua and Barbuda.

His revelations gained substantial international attention, being prominently covered by Financial Times,[20] Reuters,[21] Finews,[22] El Español,[23] and other major news outlets.

[3][14][15][16][24] Financial Times’s Corporate Finance Editor Robert Smith considered this expose as "one of the most consequential European banking scoops of the year".

These revelations brought forward by Ambassador Item became sources and further covered by Die Weltwoche,[31] Corriere del Ticino,[32] Inside Paradeplatz[33] and El País.

In an article headlined “AT1 case: Credit Suisse relationship managers lied to clients, too”[42] he made public a series of confidential documents showing how a pyramidal disinformation strategy aimed at reassuring the bank's clients and investors was in place in order to limit capital outflows and the loss of value of Credit Suisse Group's bonds and stocks.

Yet, in the heated legal battle concerning Credit Suisse's (CS) mandatory convertible bonds (AT1-Bonds), where nearly 16 billion Swiss francs are at stake for the parties involved, the British paper was repeatedly outpaced by the obscure «Antigua News»: Time and again, the news portal on the Caribbean island, unknown outside of it, reported faster and, above all, was exceptionally well-informed about the negotiations.”.