His paternal grandmother, Giuseppina De Gaetani, had settled in Valletta in the mid-19th century from Riposto, Sicily.
Giarre and Riposto had separated in 1841, but the Fascist government in 1935 decided to unite them again in order to former a greater conurbation developing on the same road axis, the Via Nuova (modern Corso Italia).
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The railway station serving the two towns, part of the Messina-Catania railway, is still named Giarre-Riposto.