Ships Ahoy! De Blasio Fam Headed to Italy

July 14, 2014 By Matthew Taub Brooklyn Daily Eagle

De Blasio family at Mermaid parade; currently preparing for Italy

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Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that he, First Lady Chirlane McCray, and their children Chiara and Dante will travel together to Italy later this month for a family vacation.

The family will depart on Friday, July 18 and return to New York City on Sunday, July 27. In addition to vacation time with the family, Mayor de Blasio will hold official events with Italian government representatives. The Mayor and his family will visit Grassano, the town from where his maternal grandmother, Anna Briganti, emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s, as well as Sant’Agata de’ Goti, where the Mayor’s grandfather Giovanni de Blasio was born. The de Blasio family will also visit Rome, Naples, Capri and Venice on their Italian trip.

“Returning to Italy this summer will be a homecoming for our family. It will be a moment to humbly express our gratitude to the family members and local residents who supported us and cheered us on over those long months,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “And, as our first family trip together since we went to Niagara Falls in 2012, it will be a moment to enjoy some much-needed time with Chiara and Dante.”

While Mayor de Blasio is away, First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris will oversee and administer day-to-day functions of City government. The Mayor will also convene daily check-in calls with senior cabinet officials while he is in Italy. In the case of an emergency, the Mayor will cut short his trip to return to New York City to attend to City business.

Further details of the trip will be announced early next week. In the meantime, more about the family’s upcoming plans can be read at flonyc.tumblr.com.