SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - The 20-foot tall giraffe outside of Legoland Discovery Center at Assembly Row will has a new name—Gio.
The giant giraffe was renamed in honor of Giovanni Maggiore—a 6-year-old Medford boy who passed away from a rare heart condition in April.
“It’s perfect, it’s absolutely perfect,” said Maya Maggiore, Gio’s mother.
In his short life, Gio fell in love with giraffes.
“It melts my heart,” said Maya Maggiore. “He would be thrilled, he just wanted people to know his story, he wanted to be famous and he is,” she added.
His family and the Medford community had campaigned for Gio’s name to be chosen for a giraffe born at a zoo in New York. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but family friend, Michelle Hardy, spearheaded the name change at Legoland.
“In my mind, I was like ‘Do I call Franklin Park Zoo? Stone Zoo? No, I’m going with Legoland because that giraffe will be here forever,’” said Hardy.
Gio’s father, Chris Maggiore, said this gift is more than what they could have asked for.
“It’s all the people Gio has touched during his life, and, you know, I think…probably touched more people than any of us ever knew,” said Chris Maggiore.
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