Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and local Italian-Americans gave a warm welcome Thursday to a delegation from Bracigliano, Italy, which is the hometown of thousands of city residents, including the mayor's parents. Sarno met with Bracigliano Mayor Antonio Rescigno and others at City Hall, exchanging gifts and pledging to continue the close ties between Springfield and Bracigliano, a small town in the southeastern province of Salerno.

"This is very near and dear to my heart," Sarno said during the hour-long ceremony. Sarno's parents, Alfonso "Al the Barber" Sarno and the late Clara Sarno, are among an estimated 15,000 city residents who have ties to Bracigliano. The town has roughly 5,000 to 5,500 residents.