The secretary of the “Armeni Pulia” Association in Bari, Italy and the founder and chair of the Hrant Nazaryants cultural center, Carlo Coppola, was recently granted Armenian citizenship. During an interview with Aravot Daily that was translated by Arevik Grigoryan, Coppola said that he is overwhelmed by receiving his Armenian passport from the President himself.
“It’s amazing when you belong to two historical peoples- Armenians and Italians. I am an Italian citizen and I did not give an oath, but I gave an oath in order to become an Armenian citizen. I swore to be loyal to the Armenian language, education, nation, and culture. That is a huge responsibility for me. I do not have any materialistic benefits in becoming an Armenian citizen; I live and work in Italy. This simply has spiritual meaning for me. I simply felt the need to become an Armenian citizen. I started working on Armenian issues in 2001, which is when I found out what Armenia is,” Carlo Coppola said.
He said that when he came to Armenia for the first time, he was surprised because he had never seen so many Armenians in one place before. He added, “Armenia for me includes Anatolia, Cilicia, Constantinople… when I first came to this country, I told my wife that I love it here because this is where Armenians live. The fact that so many Armenians live in Armenia shows that the Turks did not win in 1915. When I became a citizen and gave my oath, there were so many people in the hall. The majority were Diaspora Armenians. I remembered all the Anatolian Armenians who came to Bari and didn’t receive Armenian citizenship. That’s when I realized I’m not alone; there are 1.5 million Armenians standing behind me who led me to swear to become an Armenian citizen.”
