According to a recent report by CNN, many people buy townhouses in Italy to enjoy the sunshine year-round or for vacation and recuperation, but a black family in Texas - 59-year-old Nadine, 61-year-old husband Dawkins and their children Lorenzo, 29, and Dena, 27 - bought a house in the small town of Latronico to get away from the United States and start a new life.

After Floyd was murdered, the family decided to leave the United States in 2020. Nadine said: "This tragedy shows the world how we black Americans have been treated for centuries." She said that during Trump's administration, racism and hatred caused able black people to flee the United States in large numbers.

Nadine said: "The United States is a divided country, voting rights are being rolled back, and black history is being destroyed. Police brutality against black people, mass shootings by domestic terrorists, and the overall hatred in this country are the reasons why we left the United States."

Nadine served in the military for 30 years before moving to Italy, while Dawkins worked for the US government. Latronico is located in the southern Italian region of Basilicata and is home to about 4,000 people.

Nadina’s great-great grandfather was Italian and came to the U.S. in the 1800s. Her Italian ancestor took an American name: Clint Jeffrey, and married her great-great grandmother, Lucinda, whom he purchased from a plantation in Arkansas.

Nadine hopes to travel to Italy to trace her roots. She doesn't know where in Italy her grandfather is from, but she keeps an old photo of him with her.

“I always felt a connection to Italy after hearing my grandmother’s stories,” she said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any more information about Lucinda. My grandmother and great-grandmother never told me anything else about her because life was difficult for black people in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Nadine plans to promote language exchange by teaching English to local young people after moving to Latronico and hopes to help the town become more well-known. She said: "We like the people here, we have never met a mean person, everyone offers coffee. One day we met a villager in a shop, and like a best friend, he took us to his house for espresso, even though I don't drink coffee at all."

Dawkins said the only challenges in Latronico were overcoming the language barrier and adjusting to the isolation. "People were very patient with me using translation apps every time, and the town is very remote, so you really need a car to get around within walking distance," he said. "But the best part is that you can leave your keys in the door, even at night. It's a quiet and safe place, which brings peace of mind."

Nadine and Dawkins said that eventually, they hope to obtain Italian citizenship.