Gesso, Italy
Buongiorno!
Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for a warmer welcome than I could have imagined.
I'm also grateful to Ms. Prefect Di Stani and to President Schifani for their leadership.
Ambassador Markell, Jack, Carla, thank you for your hospitality and your work to strengthen the special relationship between Italy and the United States.
I know you have an excellent partner in Consul General Roberts-Pounds, Tracy, thank you for your service in Naples.
Dr. Mario Sarica, thank you for researching my family's history and capturing it in your wonderful book.
My daughter, Ashley, and I just stepped into this beautiful church, where we saw the record of my great-grandmother's baptism in 1865.
Father Franco Arrigo, thank you for inviting me to visit the church of my great-grandparents.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden-that its light shines for all to see.
I'm here today because the light from the hills of Gesso shines across the world-and it shines brightly within me.
More than a hundred years ago, my great-grandparents, Gaetano and Conchetta Giacoppa, walked the narrow streets of Gesso. They talked with their neighbors and watched the stars wander out at night.
And in the everyday rhythms of life, they were shaped by Italian values: loyalty, hard work, and the belief that there's always room for one more seat at the table.
Like many in their generation, strengthened by those values, yet seeking better opportunities, my great-grandparents decided to leave their homeland for the promise of an unfamiliar place, and the idea that no matter where you come from, you can find a home and a future in the United States of America.
As they crossed the Atlantic, they prayed for the protection of St. Anthony, who continues to watch over the people of Gesso.
In America, they quickly found that Hammonton, New Jersey was home to fellow immigrants from Gesso. And other neighbors had come from their own Gessos around the world, bringing the light of those homelands to their new nation too.
Step by step, my great-grandparents built a life. Their last name, "Giacoppa," became Jacobs.
Their son-my grandpop-grew up and got a job moving furniture.
And his son-my father-joined the United States military at age 17, and then went to school to become a banker.
Within two generations, America was no longer an unfamiliar place. It's where they dreamed bigger with every decade.
My great-grandparents said goodbye to Gesso and set sail with hope in their hearts.
But they never could have predicted that within three generations, their great-granddaughter would be back in Gesso, standing before you, as the first Italian American First Lady of the United States.
As First Lady, I've brought the vibrant Italian American community together to celebrate our culture and sustain our traditions.
I've even had the opportunity to serve gnocchi and braciole in the White House!
And the values of loyalty, hard work, and that spirit of generosity that my great-grandparents brought with them to America still live on today.
I am so grateful to be here in Gesso. And as I look out at this beautiful place, and all of you, I feel the warmth of home. Because of your kindness, because of your joyful welcome, I will always remember and cherish this day.
And if my great-grandparents could see all of us here together, I know they would have been happy, not because I have the title of "First Lady," but because their descendants stayed true to their roots.
I'm returning to Gesso today with gratitude for my great-grandparents, and you. For the culture we cherish. And for the light that shines in the White House, and wherever there is a son or daughter of Gesso.
May God bless you and keep you.
Grazie.
