Francis Ford Coppola is bridge between his ancestors' home of Basilicata in southern Italy and the rest of the world, Governor Vito Bardi said on The Godfather director's 87th birthday Tuesday.
Bardi also hailed the filming of the upcoming project of The Conversation an Apocalypse now helmer's adaptation of Edith Warton's Glimpses of the Moon in Basilicata and neighboring Calabria.
"On behalf of myself and the entire Lucanian community, I wish to extend my best wishes to Francis Ford Coppola on his 87th birthday," Bardi told ANSA, "The Maestro represents an illustrious son of Basilicata and a cultural figurehead who, through his art and his family history in Bernalda, has succeeded in uniting the international scope of great cinema with the most authentic soul of our region." Coppola's paternal grandparents emigrated to America from the village of Bernalda in the mid-19th century.
His maternal grandfather, popular Italian composer Francesco Pennino, emigrated from Naples.
Bardi emphasized "the profound value of a true, sincere bond.
