Gov. Mike Easley hopes to attract some Italian tourists to North Carolina during his economic trip to Italy.
The governor plans to spend about a week in Italy, meeting with Italian business leaders, promoting business investment in the state, as well as more tourism, Rob Christensen reports.
Because of the weak dollar, North Carolina might be more attractive to both Italian business leaders and tourists.
"Everything is 33 percent off or more," Easley said during an airport layover in New York.
Among other things, Easley said the North Carolina delegation will get a look at the wine industry, which is becoming increasingly important in North Carolina. He said North Carolina’s dry weather had been good for the state's vineyards.
Easley said he plans to have one meeting in London before heading home next weekend.
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Re: Easley hopes to attract Italian tourists
The good people of Italy will surely be interested to know that Como, N.C., in Hertford County, was named for Lake Como in Italy, according to Professor William Powell's "North Carolina Gazetteer."
Then of course, it might not do any harm to mention that here in North Carolina, we take pride in the fact that we're not all that far from Florence. Florence, Italy? No, I reckon we'd have to 'fess up and say we're talking about Florence, S.C., but it's still "molto bene!"
Oh, and don't forget Verona!
Italy has its Piedmont, and so we do, so Italian tourists should feel right at home in the Old North State. And hey, you probably could fit a couple of gondolas in the Cape Fear River between Lillington and Fayetteville...
David McKnight