Trump election: De Niro offered Italy welcome Published duration 11 November 2016

image copyright AFP image caption The actor branded Donald Trump "a punk" and said he wants to punch him

The Italian town where Robert De Niro's great-grandparents lived has offered the US actor refuge, after he said he would move there if Donald Trump won the presidency.

"We are ready to welcome him with open arms," Antonio Cerio, the mayor of Ferrazzano, told local media

De Niro has used strong language to describe Mr Trump, saying he would like "to punch him in the face".

The actor's ancestors emigrated from Ferrazzano in 1890.

Nowadays the little town is home to 3,000 residents, and appears ready to welcome one more.

image caption Ferrazzano is a small medieval town in the Italian mountains

"If after the disappointment of Trump, he wants to take refuge here, we are ready to welcome him," said Mr Cerio.

"Naturally it would be an honour and give us great pleasure."

The local emigration association has suggested making the Oscar-winner president of Molise - the region where Ferrazzano lies - if only for a day.

The association noted that De Niro "is tied to his Molise origins and even speaks a good Italian-Molise dialect, even if he doesn't like to flaunt it".

De Niro, whose many hit films include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Meet the Fockers, has both American and Italian citizenship.

"I'm going to probably have to move there," he joked on the day of the US election result.

Speaking on US talk-show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he conceded that knocking Mr Trump out was now off the table.

"I can't [punch Trump] now, he's the president. And I have to respect that position," he said.