ITALY HAILS NEW NY MAYOR DE BLASIO
Italian-American Bill de Blasio’s landslide victory in New York City’s mayoral race on November 5, 2013 was hailed all over Italy but nowhere more so than in a small town near Naples. That would be Sant’Agata de’ Goti, a town in the province of Benevento, where de Blasio’s maternal grandfather was born. His maternal grandmother was born in Grassano in the province of Matera in Basilicata. As the ballots were counted in New York, about 100 townspeople gathered in Sant’Agata de’ Goti’s former movie theater in the early morning hours to watch a broadcast of de Blasio's victory speech. The New York mayor-elect said: “Tonight I feel the deepest appreciation for generations of my family including those no longer with us, and a special thank you to my Italian family and friends in Rome and in my grandfather’s hometown of Sant’Agata de’ Goti, and my grandmother’s hometown of Grassano.
To them I say: “Grazie a tutti.” The town erupted in celebration after the election results were broadcast. The townspeople cracked open bottles of Falaghina spumante, set off fireworks, and waved American flags. Many wore T-shirts saying “Forza Bill.” Among those attending the town’s victory party was Mayor Carmine Valentino, who said he appreciated de Blasio’s mention of the town and his greetings in Italian after his victory. The mayor commented that de Blasio “has not forgotten his roots. Pictures of de Blasio and his family were plastered all over town, on bulletin boards and shop windows, and American flags hung from balconies.
A sponge cake filled with hazelnut and white chocolate has been named in his honor. A Neapolitan artisan fashioned a terra cotta figurine of de Blasio with a tricolor sash, while a pizza maker wrote “Napoli love [sic] de Blasio” in mozzarella on a pie. De Blasio minored in Italian at New York University, worked with his mother on a book about the Italian resistance during World War II, and accompanied her on research trips. De Blasio has said he is working to perfect his accent by practicing with his barber, who also shares Italian newspapers with him.