She feels comfortable in the country of her ancestors

The US first lady will remain in Rome after the G-20 Summit

  • The first US lady with her French counterpart.

    Reuters

  • The First Lady of the United States with her husband on a visit to Pope Francis, EPA

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Six months after the death of their son (Beau) in 2015, US First Lady Jill Biden and her husband, then-Vice President Joe Biden, could not bear the thought of going to Nantucket, Massachusetts, for the traditional Thanksgiving feast of the Biden family, because, as she wrote in her memoirs, 2019: "When the light enters their house, it looks like it's forming an image cut out of Poe's face."

Instead, she decided to move the family to Rome for vacation, and asked to be allowed to stay at the US ambassador's residence, a source familiar with her residence at the time said.

For Biden's generation, Italy was a country they could "escape" to, as she described it in her memoirs, and the religious symbolism of Rome was a relief to Biden's devout Catholic family.

This week, Biden returned to the ambassador's residence in Rome, a 15th-century estate called Villa Taverna, this time back as the first lady of the United States, determined to support her husband in his first summit with the Group of 20 president.

As he meets with leaders and discusses controversial topics such as the environment, the global economy, potential threats from China, Russia and the pandemic, Jill Biden will handle a few of her own bilateral diplomatic meetings.

Italian homegrown

The first lady's family traces its roots back to Italy, and Italian culture has always played a role in the life of Jill Biden, and her Sicilian people cherish that she is now the only Italian-American first lady in the United States.

Biden's maiden name is Jacobs (the family name), and her great-grandfather's name, when he arrived on Ellis Island, after immigrating to America, was Gaetano Giacuba, and Jacobs "Americanized" the family surname to become Jacobs, as thousands of immigrants did, when starting a new life. in the United States.

The Jacobs family lived in small Gesu, Sicily, a small village in the province of Messina, and now has fewer than 1,000 people.

And her family's origin has made her influenced by Italian traditions. In many interviews, Jill Biden used to suggest that her Italian ancestry was a driving force for her to organize a big Italian-style family dinner on Sundays, and said the president likes angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce, The sons were biased towards chicken parmigiana.

The first lady's time in her ancestral homeland will be packed with meetings, including visits to families of American troops, and she met Pope Francis on Friday, where she wore a black leopard-embossed suit and a mid-back black lace cap on the back of her head, and drank tea. On Friday afternoon with the French first lady, Brigitte Macron, she said that their relationship was "like sisters", and when she entered the cafe with Mrs. Macron, the American first lady said that her meeting with Pope Francis was "wonderful".

When asked if she was enjoying her life in Italy, she said: “We've been here many times, I love Italy, Brigitte loves Italy, I mean who can't love Italy?

There's nothing we don't like about this country, is there?

While the two first ladies were enjoying afternoon tea, their spouses were having their first personal meeting since the diplomatic spat between the two countries last month.

The two first ladies have more in common than their husbands, as they are both teachers, and an informed source said they discussed their roles as first ladies in their respective countries, and discussed education problems, bullying, and shared interests in culture, including increased access to the arts.

Prior to her meeting with Mrs. Macron, Biden met the Italian first lady, Maria Serinella Capello, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Capello is known in Italy as a relatively introverted figure and shy of the press, and her meeting with Biden will not be available for media coverage.

In addition to her one-on-one meetings, Ms. Biden attended a couple's luncheon yesterday, and a farewell lunch yesterday.

I also went to the official ceremony of the "Group of 20", the day before yesterday, with the president.

The first US lady will remain in Rome after her husband Biden leaves for Scotland, to participate in the COP26 climate summit, until today, and then leave for Naples, where she will stop at the US military base, and Mrs. Biden will visit the Education Activity School of the Ministry of Defense at the base.

Her press secretary, Michael Larosa, said she would "meet high school students, tour several classrooms, and speak to a first-grade assembly."

• Jill Biden used to point out that her Italian descent was a driving force for her to organize a big Italian-style family dinner on Sundays.

• Jill Biden's family has roots in Italy, and Italian culture has always played a role in her life.

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