After a long pause, we resume telling you about the adventures of Raíz Italiana and conclude with Emiliano and Melina's experience in Puglia.
After 3 months of experiences, travels, stories found, and new friendships, on July 27th, the community of Guagnano officially welcomed a new “Guagnano countryman”.
Since their arrival in Italy, Emi and Meli have reflected the spirit that we at Raíz Italiana try to promote: giving descendants of Italians the chance to have an authentic experience in Italy and to gain greater awareness of their origins.
They got to know and live the city in every respect, not as tourists, but as true citizens, thanks to the hospitality of the inhabitants of Guagnano, who from the first day made them feel part of their reality. This is why all their closest friends from this time came to accompany and celebrate this special moment.
And as it was a special moment, from Raíz Italiana we wanted to surprise our now Italian-Argentinian chef by inviting our dear friend Donato De Santis, who is already a symbol of the Italian and Pugliese community on the other side of the ocean, to close this leg of our journey through Puglia. He symbolically became Emiliano’s godfather and witness as an Italian citizen.
In the presence of the Head of the Registry Office of the Municipality of Guagnano, Emiliano finally signed his citizenship act and became an Italian Citizen for all intents and purposes.
The celebrations continued at one of the establishments showcasing Salentine culinary wonders, L’Orecchietta, accompanied by a special toast with one of the area's signature wines, Amure delle Tenute Eméra, thanks to our friend Alessandra Quarta.
And so this story ends, leaving us happy that Emi and Meli become a testament to the fact that obtaining Italian citizenship has not only an instrumental purpose, but acquires an emotional value that allows us to reinforce the bond between Italy and the countries that hosted our emigrants and their families.
