Back to her roots

Back to her roots

When the first woman speaker of the United States' House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was in the country of her forefathers in early February on an official state visit, she received an unexpected gift from Italy's Chamber of Deputies speaker Gianfranco Fini-the birth certificates of her grandparents.   &

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Thu 26 Feb 2009 1:00 AM

When
the first woman speaker of the United States’ House of Representatives, Nancy
Pelosi, was in the country of her forefathers in early February on an official
state visit, she received an unexpected gift from Italy’s Chamber of Deputies
speaker Gianfranco Fini-the birth certificates of her grandparents.

 

‘We know how proud you are of your Italian roots’, said
Fini as he handed over the certificates of Pelosi’s grandfather and her
grandmother. Pelosi responded, ‘Oh, mamma mia, I wasn’t expecting this! It’s
such a great thrill.’

 

Pelosi paternal grandfather, Tommaso Fedele
D’Alessandro, was born on September 11, 1868 in Montenerodomo, near Chieti,
Abruzzo. Her grandmother, Maria Petronilla Foppiani, was born in Rovegno, near
Genova, Liguria in 1894.

 

Fini
also gave Pelosi a photo of Montenerodomo taken in her grandfather’s time and a
letter from the mayor of Rovegno inviting her to visit her grandmother’s
birthplace.

 

On her six-day visit, Pelosi visited many Italian
cities, including Rome, Florence and Naples. While in Florence, she visited the
city’s museums, met with officials at the U.S. Consulate, paid an official
visit to Mayor Domenici and laid a wreath at the Anglo-American war cemetery
outside the city.

 

Her time in Rome centered mainly on official meetings
with the country’s top political leaders. On her first day in Italy, Pelosi met
Italian president Giorgio Napolitano and visited the Chamber of Deputies with
speaker Gianfranco Fini, where she also gave a speech on international
cooperation. In the days following, she had lunch with premier Silvio
Berlusconi, and met with foreign minister Franco Frattini and defense minister
Ignazio La Russa.

 

Prior to returning to the States, she had an audience
with Pope Benedict XVI and visited U.S. servicemen stationed near Naples.

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