America News Agency

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that over the years she had been subjected to various insults targeting her personally, her physical appearance, her family and her origins. Meloni stated that Floriano Della Bella, a member of the Democratic Party, had described her as a "Ciociara in a derogatory sense" during a Pontedera City Council session.

Meloni said that the City Council President had also considered the expression inappropriate and that Della Bella had been reprimanded for his remarks. Objecting to the use of the term "Ciociara" as an insult, Meloni said she was proud of the description.

Meloni described the Ciociaria region as one of Italy's most beautiful, oldest and most important regions, noting that it had produced numerous religious figures, artists, writers and poets throughout history. She cited figures including Cicero, Gaius Marius, Boniface VIII, Thomas Aquinas, Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio De Sica and Nino Manfredi.

Meloni argued that it was contradictory for people who spoke about the public, respect and social cohesion to characterize approximately half a million Italians as inferior, ignorant or second-class citizens.