Antonino Scordo, a 38-year-old Italian, is an executive sous chef at Nanjing Jinling Hotel’s Western department in Nanjing, who is affectionately called “Nino” by his friends. Over the past eight years, he felt much warmth living in China as everyone around him was always ready to give a hand.

             Antonino Scordo poses with his wife and two-year-old son for a family photo.

When the novel coronavirus broke out in China, Giuseppe Cuomo, mayor of Nino’s hometown Sorrento, wasted no time and was among the first who have sent a letter of support to the Chinese people. Later, chefs of the Michelin Stars Rrestaurants in Italy who are all close friends with Nino sent their best wishes. Nino told the reporter from China Today, Nanjing’s Gulou district District and Italy’s Sorrento city had become sister cities who jointly held the event of “Thanksgiving with Michelin Stars Chefs” as part of the 4th session of the “Week of Italian Cuisine in the World" at the end of last November. This time,Now, the raging epidemic has brought the hearts of the two peoples much even closer.

                                                             Pictures and updated news shared in the WeChat Moments of Antonino Scordo.

Nino and his wife with their two-year-old son are now livingnow live in China, but his other family members are far apart in Italy. As the epidemic spreads over Italy, Nino’s worry grows too. “At the beginning, they kept on sending me messages, but now in turn I have begun to worry about them,” said Nino. Soon news came that the Chinese government had dispatched a group of medical personnel to Italy, which has somewhat eased Nino’s anxiety.

“The coronavirus has been controlled very well in China and we have great confidence in the Chinese government’s capability to control the epidemic. I hope that we can go through this difficult time and everything goes well with my family members and friends in Italy,” said Nino. At present, all his friends are cheering for both the Chinese and the Italian people. For Nino, he is still looking forward to the gourmet exchanges that are to be held carried out between Jinling Hotel and IIBuco Michelin to share mouth-watering delicacies and build a bridge between his hometown Sorrento - – a pearl at the Napoli Bay of Naples, and the ancient Chinese city Nanjing, which has had been the the capitals of for six dynasties.

                                                                                            Antonino Scordo is sending his best wishes via a short video.

Video script:

Hello, everyone! My name is Antonino Scordo. Everyone knows me as Nino. I came from Italy. Actually, I made the choice to come and work in China, and basically it was my best choice in my life. I love this country, I love its people, and I love everything and everyone here.

At the moment, I am in Nanjing where I work as an executive sous chef for Jinling Hotel. As I am Italian, a lot of my relatives are still in Italy. My friends, my family, and my parents are all in Italy. So, this moment is not a very easy time for me. Every day, I am calling and listening to some news that makes me feel very bad.

But three days ago, I read the news from the Chinese government that some doctors started to help us with masks and other stuff like that. And they went straight to Italy to help the people. I believe in China one hundred percent. And I really wish from my heart that all the people in Italy follow all the rules and safety guidelines the Chinese doctors recommend. Because if China has already achieved something, Italy can do the same. I just wish from my heart for everyone that everything can get better soon.

Cheer for China; cheer for Italy!