Oh come on! "Surely" you understand that by "National Patent" he is referring to the granting of his Italian Patent Application (or his pending U.S. Application), i.e. a patent issued by and recognized in a single nation.
By International Patent he is most likely referring to a "Eurozone-wide" patent, which is still pending.
“Dear Mr Alan C.: 1- I have not yet an international patent granted, I have a National patent granted, the international application is still pending”
It does not say “I have a National patent pending.”
Furthermore, Italy is a member of NATO and has a reciprocal agreement with all NATO members to honor any NATO member’s patents granted. That means the U.S. will honor the patent granted in Italy.
If he already has a patent approved in any country, the information and design is of public record and can be seen by anyone.
The patents I have are open public records and the electronic design is for all to see. Furthermore, during the patent protection period ANYONE can build one from the patent design and use it for personal use without prevention. However, they can’t manufacture or sell the ones they make on the retail/distributor level until the patent expires.
I have one patent that expires this year that I’ve been manufacturing since 1993. Upon expiration, anyone can make and sell it.