We are in Ripi, in the heart of the Ciociaria area, where the hills create a multitude of horizons that recall Tuscany, where scents coming from the earth of the colorful hills fills the eyes and soul. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Aldo Verrelli has never forgotten his country, and keeps nurturing a very strong bond of love that binds him to his Ciociarian roots.
Now, the expression of his love can be seen and lived by all. The Verrelli Family Foundation has donated a clinic to the city of Ripi for a total of 250,000 euros (link to article). The center will be managed by the ASL and will benefit a vast area of Ciociaria, that through this gesture will be able to understand the value and strength of the roots .
We were present at the inauguration ceremony, to deliver the Town Ambassador Award in the hands of Aldo Verrelli, together with Mayor Piero Sementilli and Councilor Enrico De Angelis. Aldo was surrounded by his entire family, starting with his wife Melissa, his son Maximillian with his wife Elizabeth and their two little princesses, all the way to his numerous relatives in Ripi.
The Town Ambassador Award is certainly a small feat compared to everything Aldo has done for his town and country, but it is nontheless significant because it is a bridge between distant communities, between Italy and America.
Aldo Verrelli is a banker from New York, and with his family he is one of the protagonists of the American financial world, but in all these years he has never forgotten Ripi. If you read the biography on one of his companies’ website (http://www.averrelli.com/aldo-verrelli/) you can immediately understand his deep love and attachment to the town of Ripi.
He had left this Ciociarian village at the age of 14 with his sister and mother to join his father in the United States. His father was already living in a small town in Ohio, while two of his other sisters had already married, and wanted to stay in Italy.
We can say that Aldo grew up surrounded by women (3 sisters) and soon, as a good Italian, he felt the responsibility of having to think about all of them, especially the Italian ones.
When he arrived in the American province of Ohio, the Verrellis were the only Italian family present and perhaps this is why Aldo feelt at ease, enough to learn English as quick as he could.
Almost immediately he excelled in school and after finishing high school he came to the Big Apple to attend university.
After graduating, he was co-opted by the university until he had to make a life choice, to which his mentor professor told him: 'you will be successful in any case, but you have to choose between private enterprise and research. Perhaps your calm and determined character can take you far in the business world. And so it was.
Love soon came after with Melissa, a petite woman of German origins who welcomed the large Italian family and the role of taking care of everyone. Together they now have 3 children, Maximillian, Valentino and Angelica (in honor of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso). And as the family grew, the number of houses did too.
In fact, as a good patriarch after building a house for his family in Glen Cove (New York), he acquired the land nearby to build a house for his parents just on the right of his family home, and one on the left for his mother-in-law. He practically created a small 'Italian' style village, united by love and a positivity, capable of overcoming any obstacle in life.
But the bond with Ripi did not diminish. On the contrary, it became stronger every time he returned to Italy to visit his sisters. So Aldo began to think about how to unite the two sides of the ocean, starting with the boys (perhaps thinking of his grandchildren) and he began financing scholarships for young people who excel in the English language in order to facilitate intercultural exchanges.
His love for his roots has also manifested in a strong commitment to the Columbus Citizens Foundation (https://columbuscitizens.org), the largest organization of Italian Americans committed to promoting Italian roots and maintaining ties between the USA and Italy.
Aldo believes in the role of education to shape the future of young people, and for the Columbus Foundation he became the head of scholarships, intended to help Italian descendants. He soon enters as a member of the board of the foundation and participates in the annual parade that is broadcasted on television in many states around the world.https://columbuscitizensfoundation.clubhouseonline-e3.net/About/Board_of_Governors
Despite some scarring of the statues of Christopher Columbus during the days of the parade, Italian descendants are highly respected and the October 12th the demonstraions held in New York is one of the main events in American life.
It was only interrupted due to the Covid 19 pandemic which brought Aldo Verrelli 52 days of coma. But this strong-willed and innovative Ciociaro could not miss the inauguration of his clinic in Ripi. And the big party with the family we saw him happily dance the “jump” with his son and granddaughters while the whole hall applauded.
Aldo Verrelli has always been Ripi's ambassador and the Town Ambassador Award is just a small recognition of his love for his town, but it is also a wish: that bridges that unite young people from Ciociaria and young Americans can be built once and for all.
That finally, all the work that Aldo has done in these past years can lead to new long lasting relationships, which will not be those of our ancestors, but which can be equally intense.
Young digital nomads, temporary citizens who go from Ripi to America and vice versa, tourists, gourmets looking for unique experiences, each of them can put a brick in the construction of a new large community that they can call home.
Thank you Aldo, see you in September at the annual Town Ambassadors meeting at the University of Cassino (www.townambassador.org).
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