On the other hand, apparently the Italians loved him:

In Ferrazzano, the village which De Niro's great grandparents left in search of the US dream in the late 19th century, most of its 3,280 residents are among his greatest fans and are adamant that he should be formally made an Italian. He does not officially qualify for a passport because neither his parents nor his grandparents were Italian born.

De Niro was born in New York in 1943, and has never visited the village.

Every August for eight years, the village's now wealthy population of lawyers, doctors and office workers, most of who commute to work in the nearby town of Campobasso, has turned out for a week long festival of De Niro films.