A square in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia, where Kobe Bryant used to live as a kid, will be named after Kobe Bryant. The city’s mayor, Luca Vecchi, announced that the new square in front of Via Guasco, where a basketball gym is located, will be named after the basketball legend.
“Kobe was one of us: here, and in the city playgrounds, he organized games with athletes older than himself, with schoolmates. While his father was a star in the basketball main team, Kobe grew up in the youth sector of Pallacanestro Reggiana. His smile, his love for basketball entered inside us and a bit of Reggio Emilia had entered inside him forever, as he had told us a few years ago returning to our city, which he called “home”. Rest in peace Kobe, Reggio Emilia will not forget you,” Vecchi wrote via Facebook.
Via WIKIPEDIA.com:
When Bryant was six, his father retired from the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball at a lower level. After two years they moved first to Reggio Calabria and then to Pistoia and Reggio Emilia. Kobe became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak fluent Italian. He was especially fond of Reggio Emilia, which he considered a loving place and where his best childhood memories were made
