The village of Gesso is near Messina in eastern Sicily
Credit: LaPresse
A hill-top village in Sicily is hoping that it can lure America’s next First Lady back to her roots.
Jill Biden’s ancestors hail from Gesso, a tiny town at the eastern end of the Mediterranean island. Her grandfather emigrated from Sicily in 1900, with the family settling in New Jersey.
He Anglicised his surname, changing it from Giacoppo to Jacobs, and the First Lady-designate was born Jill Jacobs.
Her long-lost cousins are hoping that once Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, he and his wife will find time to visit them in Italy.
“She should know that we are waiting for her. The pasta al forno (baked pasta) is ready, and so are the meatballs in tomato sauce,” said one cousin, Caterina Giacoppo, 64.
Caterina Giacoppo is a distant cousin of Jill Biden, the next First Lady of the US
Credit: LaPresse
“I’d be so happy if she came to Gesso. We could show her the many beautiful things of the village, like the museum and the churches. Our house is not very grand but we would gladly host her. We’re simple people but we’re welcoming.”
Dating back to before the Norman occupation of Sicily in the 11th century, Gesso means chalk or gypsum in Italian and the village’s name derives from local quarries where the mineral was mined.
Home to around 500 people, in the local dialect the village is known as Ibbisu. It has commanding views of the sea, as well as the volcanic islands of Vulcano and Stromboli, part of the Aeolian archipelago.
Mrs Biden’s grandfather, Domenico, was just two years old when his family boarded the boat that took them across the Atlantic to the US.
A local points to a shipping register which records the family's departure from Italy for the US
Credit: IPA Milestone
“They kept their surname for a month and then changed it to Jacobs,” Antonio Federico, a local genealogist who has traced the family tree, told Italy’s Ansa news agency.
Documents relating to the family’s history are kept in the local museum.
“They embarked in Naples on May 19, 1900, on a ship called the Patria. Ten days later, they arrived on Ellis Island. The family included Domenico, Jill’s grandfather,” said Mario Sarica, the curator of the museum.
Domenico eventually had a family of his own and named his son Donald – in turn he had children, among them a daughter, Jill.
Many people from Gesso initially moved to rural areas of New Jersey, where they farmed, said Mr Sarica.
Jill Biden has spoken fondly of her Italian roots
Credit: AFP
The mayor of nearby Messina is also keen for Mrs Biden to visit. “We’d love to help her get to know the cultural, culinary and artistic origins of her land of origin,” said Cateno De Luca. “I hope there will be a chance for Joe and Jill Biden to come to Italy and visit Messina.”
The family was emblematic of the millions of Italians who fled poverty and lack of opportunity to make new lives for themselves in the US, he said.
“They were able to give their families the economic security that they were unable to find in Italy,” the mayor said.
In an interview earlier this year, Jill Biden recalled attending Italian festivals in New Jersey. “My grandmother cooked traditional Italian dishes for Sunday dinner. We would go to my grandparents’ house every Sunday because her cooking was the best. The red sauce and the meat balls and the pasta…”
Joe Biden, who is due to be sworn in as President on Jan 20, has Irish roots, while his vice-president, Kamala Harris, is of Indian and Jamaican origin.
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