L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano F or nearly 150 years, the city of S pokane has nurtured close ties with Italy. The city is home to a vibrant Ital- ian-American community started by immigrants w ho arrived around 1890 to work as "gandy dancers" on the railroads, mak- ing railroad ties and laying track. Many of these men fell in love with the fertile land, reminiscent of their homeland. They sent for their wives and children and started a community known as the Italian Settlement. Then there is Gonzaga Uni- vers ity, a private univers ity established in 1887, which has several Italian connections. Gon- zaga was founded by missionary Giuseppe Maria Cataldo, who was born in Terrasini, Sicily, and ministered to pioneers in Wash- ington and Idaho for more than 50 years. The university itself was named to honor another Ital- ian, 16th century Aloysius Gon- zaga, who is the patron saint of young students. Now a new connection has arisen through Sister Cities Inter- national. The town of Cagli, in Italy's M arche dis trict, is Spokane's newest sister city and the fourth Italian sister city in Washington state. The others are Seattle and Perugia, Walla Walla and Canara, and Auburn and Mola di Bari. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n Cagli and Spokane is due in large part to Dr. John Caputo, a communications professor at Gonzaga University and hon- orary citizen of Cagli. Since 2002, Caputo has taken more than 300 Gonzaga students to Cagli on study-abroad programs. His affection, interest and ties to this small town helped pave the way for the sister city friendship. Caputo was raised in an Ital- i a n - A m e r i c a n h o u s e h o l d i n Toledo, Ohio, where his family ran a manufacturing business. "I grew up a proud Italian-Ameri- can in a large extended family," he said. "My dad was one of 14 children; I had seven uncles." He taught on the university level for 15 years in Claremont, Calif., until the overseas pro- gram at Gonzaga caught his eye. Gonzaga has one of the oldest US-Florence study-abroad pro- grams in the country, established in 1963. Although Caputo admits that Florence is a beautiful and his- toric city, it provides a different RITA CIPALLA Spokane welcomes Cagli, Italy, as Washington's newest sister city place else." During their two-week stay in Cagli, the students worked on short stories about the families they stayed with. They took classes, did some sightseeing and made many friends. Later this year, they'll make a group presentation to the Spokane City Council. Caputo is hopeful that the high school exchange program w i l l c o n t i n u e l o n g i n t o t h e future. "We received a founda- t i o n g r a n t f o r t h e f i r s t t w o y e a r s , " h e s a i d . " A f t e r t h a t , we'll need to find funds. But we're getting lots of positive feedback, with students telling us that the experience changed their outlook on the world or helped them decide what they want to study in college." With that kind of feedback and enthusiasm, not to mention the genuine affection between t h e c i t i z e n s o f C a g l i a n d Spokane, it seems all but certain that Washington's newest sister city duo will have a long and vibrant relationship. day-to-day experience for stu- dents. "I wanted our students to experience a city with a more authentic lifestyle," said Caputo. "Cagli is the perfect place for that. The people are friendly and outgoing. They are not depen- dent on tourism. In fact, very lit- t l e E n g l i s h i s e v e n s p o k e n there." L o c a t e d a b o u t 1 5 0 m i l e s northeast of Rome, Cagli has a population of about 10,000 peo- p l e , m u c h s m a l l e r t h a n S p o k a n e ' s p o p u l a t i o n o f 215,000.The commonality lies in their natural surroundings. B o t h l o c a t i o n s a r e s e t a m i d b e a u t i f u l r i v e r s , l a k e s a n d mountains, offering visitors and residents the same kind of out- door attractions— hiking, fish- i n g , c a m p i n g a n d b i k i n g , t o name a few. Caputo credits the people of Cagli with pursuing the sister city relationship. "Friends in Cagli asked whether we could formalize our relationship by establishing a sister city pro- gram," said Caputo. "I knew n o t h i n g a b o u t w h a t w a s involved, but before too long, our mayor in Spokane supported the idea and so did our local Italian-American groups." In separate years, both cities host- ed official delegations and in 2016, a pact of friendship was signed. T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l S i s t e r Cities program, founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisen- hower, was designed to promote c u l t u r a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d f r i e n d s h i p a m o n g c o u n t r i e s through person-to-person inter- actions. The program was start- ed as a way to ease the nation's nervousness during the Cold War; its approach to citizen diplomacy is still relevant today. The launch of the Spokane- Cagli sister city friendship coin- cided with the 50th anniversary of Spokane's American Italian Club. Sam Cozza, a judge on the Spokane Superior Court, spoke of the differences between being an Italian-American in eastern Washington versus one growing u p i n N e w Y o r k o r B o s t o n , where more Italian-Americans live. "In a way, it takes a bit more work to seek out other Italian-Americans here and pur- sue that interest," Cozza said in a newspaper interview. "It's easier to take [your Italia-Amer- ican heritage] for granted when you know you've got Little Italy right at your doorstep." T h i s s u m m e r , a n e w e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m t a r g e t i n g Spokane high school students was begun. "For the past three years, we've had Italian students from Cagli come visit our city during the summer months," said Caputo. "This July, we sent our first group of high school students to Cagli on a two-week intercultural exchange." O f t h e 3 5 s t u d e n t s w h o applied from both public and private schools, ten 10th and 11th graders were chosen. "We wanted students to have at least one more year of high school left," said Caputo. "We didn't want to select graduating seniors who were then leaving the com- munity to attend college some- Ten happy smiles from these Spokane high school students, the first group to participate in a new student-exchange program in Cagli, Italy, speak louder than words. (Darcy Caputo) SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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