PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Thousands gathered in Providence this weekend to say goodbye to former Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci.
Cianci’s casket was carried down the steps of City Hall Monday before being placed on a horse-drawn carriage for a procession to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul for a funeral Mass.
Many people also turned out to Federal Hill to watch Cianci’s hearse pass by.
One man said it was important for him to be on the hill during the funeral procession because Cianci was loyal to the city of Providence.
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“For loyalty,” Al Amore of Scituate said. “He was loyal. And respect for him.”
“Nobody would have ever done a job like he did. No matter what his faults were up or down, he did an excellent job,” added Wanda Hermanowski of Providence. “He was good to people. He was real to people. You know, we all make mistakes, but Buddy was one of a kind.”
According to Bob D’Uva of Providence, Buddy was “the man.”
“He was the action. He was politically astute. And he knew everything that was going on in the city and the state,” he said. “So he’s going to be missed dearly.”
