De Blasios welcomed by Small Italian town where Mayor's Grandmother was Born

GRASSANO, Italy — This small Italian town has big dreams for Mayor de Blasio.

"I think when you come back again we will see you as President of the United States," Mayor Francesco Sanseverino told his New York counterpart at a spirited “welcome home” celebration Thursday.

It was the second love-fest for de Blasio in two days. Thousands had turned out Wednesday for his visit to Sant’Agata de’Goti, where his maternal grandfather lived.

The party in Grassano, a rural backwater near the arch of southern Italy’s “boot,” was smaller, but no less affectionate.

De Blasio’s grandmother, Anna Brigante, was born here. Although she left more than a century ago, and no surviving relatives remain, de Blasio got a rock-star welcome.

“Never stop dreaming,” read one of the many homemade

banners displayed in in his honor.

De Blasio visited his grandmother's house, next to a church just outside the town center, a moment that had a profound effect on his daughter Chiara, 19.

"You could see the look of revelation on her face knowing this is exactly where her family came from," he said.