Thursday, July 24, 2014


Mayor Bill de Blasio watched on Thursday as his wife, Chirlane McCray, danced to folk musicĀ  in Grassano, Italy.
Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times
Mayor Bill de Blasio watched on Thursday as his wife, Chirlane McCray, danced to folk music  in Grassano, Italy.

In an Ancestral Town, De Blasio Is Celebrated

A second ancestral visit for New York City mayor whose grandmother left Italy 111 years ago.



Carmine Donnola, a longtime Grassano resident, said Mr. de Blasio’s return was a significant moment for a town seeking some hope. In Piazza Purgatorio on Thursday morning, Mr. Donnola handed a poem to a visitor; he planned to present it to the mayor later that day.
The poem was written in Italian. But its title was, simply, 

 “Bill”:
In the little piazza with cobblestones
Where your grandmother was born
Grassano now cheers up

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