Ciro Poppiti was born and raised in the Cleland Heights neighborhood of  Wilmington, the sixth child of Ciro and Louise Poppiti. He grew up in a big family, in a home that included his paternal grandmother, Lydia Poppiti, a first-generation American. As a young immigrant, Lydia taught herself to read and write English, and later taught a young Ciro to take pride in his heritage, to honor his family, and to respect the elders of his community.

Ciro developed a lifelong interest in theater (and made a number of lifelong friends) while performing at the Delaware Children’s Theater in the early ‘80s before his big break, playing Ben in the classic 1986 teen movie “Lucas.”

He continued high school in Delaware and graduated from Salesianum School in 1989. He went on to attend Princeton, paying his way through college by working on small films and commercials. He returned to Delaware as a young man to join his family’s legal practice, receiving his law degree from Delaware Law School (Widener University).

In 2007, Ciro received the Wilmington Award from Mayor James Baker for outstanding community service in his work with the Italian-American community as the founding chairman of the Delaware Commission on Italian Heritage and Culture.

In 2010, Ciro was elected Register of Wills in New Castle County. Under his leadership, the office launched an effort to audit more than $150 million in unaccounted assets, returning money to families and netting approximately $2.3 million in “found” money for New Castle County. In 2015, Ciro released the Delaware Estate Administration handbook, a how-to manual that unifies statewide policy, for the first time, for what happens when someone dies. 

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For his efforts, the Delaware Bar Association presented Ciro with the 2015 Government Service Award, its highest award for government service.

Ciro continues to teach as an adjunct professor at Wilmington University, teaching law, government, philosophy, and history.  He writes frequently and has contributed regular columns to several local publications over the years.

Ciro lives in Wilmington with his wife, Laura, and two children, Jake and Louise.