I'm a New Yorker Mattarella tells Italian Americans

(ANSA) - New York, February 11 - President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday spurred applause from Italian Americans by telling them, in English, "Today I'm a New Yorker!".
    Stressing that his talks with President Barack Obama had highlighted the "indissoluble" link between Italy and the US, Mattarella raised applause from the Italian American community, chiefly represented by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), at the Guggenheim Museum. "Welcome to the club of the Sicilians", said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who played host in the absence of Mayor Bill de Blasio, whom Mattarella, a native Sicilian, is expected to meet before travelling on to Houston, the last stage of his American tour.
    While Mattarella reminded his audience that he was president of all Italians, Cuomo said the Italian Americans in the State, about three million of a US total of 15 million, are "proud to be Americans and just as proud to keep Italian traditions alive".
    "I really feel at home," replied Mattarella who lauded the US capacity to welcome foreigners since the end of the 19th century.
    He said that was a "real lesson of democracy" for a Europe that appears to have forgotten the values of solidarity and the dark times when so many Europeans were forced to leave the Old Continent.
    Mattarella on Thursday will visit Ellis Island, the main gateway to the US since 1892 where almost four million Italians arrived, "fraught with fears and confidence," he said.
    Today, all of their descendants are "proud Americans who love their Italian origins".
    Mattarella's remark on "being a New Yorker" came after an "intense" visit to Ground Zero, where on September 11, 2001 almost 3,000 people died. Most of those who died were either immigrants or children of immigrants, he observed.
    "Everyone comes from somewhere to New York and each piece of the mosaic that makes us up is unique," said the Italian president.