While on a walk, I noticed this sign for the Honorary Consulate of Italy. What interested me is that the consulate is called honorary. Google searches find that there are honorary consulates, for many nations, across the US. A Google search for “why are Consulates called Honorary” finds the following explanation:
- Honorary consuls are called “honorary“ because they perform their work on an honorary basis and are not paid a fee for their services.
Following is a link to Embassy Information with details about the Charlotte Honorary Consulate of Italy. Also, following is a link to the today’s photo saved on Flickr with the caption: The Honorary Consulate of Italy.
Charlotte Daily Photo 
We have the concept here.