Kobe Bryant’s childhood home town in Italy, Reggio Emilia, has decided to honor the late Los Angeles Lakers legend and his daughter with a new plaza dedication, ESPN reports.
What’s going on?
Reggio Emilia, which is located about an hour east from Bologna in northern Italy, will unveil the new “Largo Kobe and Gianna Bryant” — a plaza that is dedicated to Bryant and his daughter, ESPN reports.
- Kobe and Gianna Bryant died one year ago on Jan. 26, 2020, in a tragic helicopter crash in California.
- The location will include a plaque and a new Ginkgo biloba tree to honor the Bryant family, according to ESPN.
- Kobe’s father, Joe Bryant, played for Reggio’s professional basketball team, Cantine Riunite.
Key quote
- “The city of Reggio Emilia and its citizens loved, first Joe, and then Kobe Bryant, the child who, once he returned to America, always remembered Reggio with love,” Emanuele Maccaferri, the vice president of the Sport Foundation of Reggio Emilia, told ESPN. “On this sad day we want to remember that happy child who left wonderful memories in so many people of Reggio Emilia.”
Fans mourn Kobe Bryant
Fans across the country continue to mourn the loss Kobe Bryant and his daughter, as well as the other people who died on that tragic flight including Payton Chester, 13; Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Keri Altobelli, 46; John Altobelli, 56; Christina Mauser, 38; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan, 50, according to NBC News.