A journey to rediscover one’s roots that takes the heart to “move” from Argentina to reach Lamezia Terme. This is the return to the origins of Jimena Grandinetti, an Argentine journalist, TV host, and influencer. Jimena was born to an Italian father, originally from Sambiase, who came across the ocean with her grandfather in the immediate post-war period. This bond has been strengthened today thanks to the Italea Project, dedicated to roots tourism, launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer descendants of Italians worldwide the opportunity to trace and visit their places of origin.

Jimena was welcomed in Lamezia Terme by Mayor Paolo Mascaro, the President of the City Council Giancarlo Nicotera, and the Councillor for Entertainment Luisa Vaccaro. The “Luisi” council hall hosted the event. As Nicotera himself pointed out: «This is the home of all the people of Lamezia, and we wanted to welcome her here for this reason, for an emotional discourse with institutional value.» Also present was Cristina Porcelli, the regional coordinator of the project, who clarified: «Italea Calabria is happy to welcome Jimena and to build this experience of rediscovering her roots for her.»
Giovanni Maria De Vita, the Embassy Advisor and the project’s coordinator, thanked the municipal administration for «welcoming Jimena Grandinetti, a great Italian abroad, a well-known journalist, who comes here to rediscover her origins. There are so many Italians in the world, and this initiative was born precisely for this reason: to facilitate their journey of rediscovery of their roots and to encourage the many descendants of Italians worldwide to undertake the roots journey. But,» he emphasized, «it is also an opportunity to show Italians who the descendants of Italians abroad are. These Italians, who have distinguished themselves in all fields in the countries that hosted them, are an opportunity for us to develop bilateral relations and offer them the possibilities that Italy offers as a whole. It is a winning relationship that we want to support, and Italy represents a unique case in the world due to the vast presence of this Italian community worldwide.»Jimena was deeply moved and thanked everyone, specifically Italea: «It is a great emotion I am experiencing here, rediscovering my origins and my land. It is important for me to live all of this and take it with me to Argentina.»
Mayor Mascaro stressed the importance of such moments of exchange: «This is a beautiful initiative, and we are happy to host this important moment here in the Luisi hall. We need to ensure that in our land and in our territories, there can again be a return of those generations who left our territory and went to other parts of the world, always trying to keep the connection with our territories alive and strong. We are happy because, in our small way, we can also be protagonists of this roots tourism.»
Jimena Grandinetti received as a gift directly from the hands of the Mayor of Lamezia the family tree of her ancestors, along with the bronze emblem of the city of Lamezia. Jimena’s stop in Calabria will be marked by a program of guided visits, which will also be the subject of interviews and reports by Grandinetti, taking her to explore Pizzo Calabro and «her» Lamezia Terme, thanks to a guided tour through the historic centers of both cities.

Jimena was deeply moved and thanked everyone, specifically Italea: «It is a great emotion I am experiencing here, rediscovering my origins and my land. It is important for me to live all of this and take it with me to Argentina.»
Mayor Mascaro stressed the importance of such moments of exchange: «This is a beautiful initiative, and we are happy to host this important moment here in the Luisi hall. We need to ensure that in our land and in our territories, there can again be a return of those generations who left our territory and went to other parts of the world, always trying to keep the connection with our territories alive and strong. We are happy because, in our small way, we can also be protagonists of this roots tourism.» Jimena Grandinetti received as a gift directly from the hands of the Mayor of Lamezia the family tree of her ancestors, along with the bronze emblem of the city of Lamezia. Jimena’s stop in Calabria will be marked by a program of guided visits, which will also be the subject of interviews and reports by Grandinetti, taking her to explore Pizzo Calabro and «her» Lamezia Terme, thanks to a guided tour through the historic centers of both cities.