Pelosi given grandparents' birth records

ROME, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received a gift Monday from her counterpart in the Italian legislature -- the birth certificates of her grandparents.

''We know how proud you are of your Italian roots,'' said Chamber of Deputies Speaker Gianfranco Fini as he presented the birth records of Pelosi's Abruzzo-born grandfather and her Liguria-born grandmother, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

''Oh, Mamma Mia, I wasn't expecting this, it's such a great thrill,'' Pelosi said.

Pelosi arrived in Italy Saturday for a six-day visit. She visited museums in Florence and laid a wreath at an Anglo-American war cemetery outside the city on Sunday. Before meeting with Fini on Monday, Pelosi met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Her schedule also includes lunch with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, an audience with Pope Benedict XVI and meeting with U.S. military personnel station in the Naples area.