L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY W h e n a r e l a t i o n - s h i p reaches a m i l e - stone, it's time to celebrate. That's what happened a few m o n t h s a g o w h e n W a l l a W a l l a a n d i t s s i s t e r c i t y Cannara, a small town in central Umbria, celebrated 10 years of friendship with a gift that carries significant meaning. To recognize the signing of the pact of friendship, Can- nara sent its sister city a scale model of a bronze statue of St. Francis made by Ital- ian artist Antonio de Paoli. The full-scale sculpture was installed in 2022 at an out- door sanctuary in Piandarca, a spot known for its silent, unspoiled landscape. Cannara, located about 8 miles from Assisi, has been affiliated for centuries with St. Francis. According to the legend, around the year 1220, after preaching in Cannara, Francis was walking along a wooded path when he came across an extraordinary num- ber of birds fluttering on the ground and in the trees. He was struck by their sound and beauty, and stopped to talk to them and bless them. The scene of St. Francis talking to the birds is one of t h e m o s t c e l e b r a t e d a n d beloved images in the life of the saint. It is often reprinted o n h o l y c a r d s a n d h a s inspired several works of art, including a painting by Giot- to. Since 1645, to commemo- rate St. Francis' sermon to the birds at Piandarca, each year locals undertake a pro- cession on the fifth Sunday a f t e r E a s t e r . T h e j o u r n e y starts from the church of St. Francis in Cannara and fol- lows the same path Francis took, about 3 miles, ending up at Piandarca where Mass i s c e l e b r a t e d . I n 1 9 2 6 , a shrine was built at Piandarca on the 700th anniversary of the death of Francis. I n 2 0 2 0 , o f f i c i a l s announced an international design contest to solicit art- work to further develop the outdoor sanctuary. Out of 60 entries, sculptor Antonio de Paoli was selected. De Paoli created a rose-marble s t o n e a l t a r a n d a b r o n z e statue of St. Francis which was unveiled and installed at Piandarca on December 6, 2022. T h e l i f e - s i z e d s t a t u e depicts a tall slim St. Francis in religious garb with his arms upraised, accompanied by two larks. Appropriately, the piece is entitled Andate e r i e m p i t e i l c i e l o d i c a n t i ("Go and fill the sky with songs"). In describing his artistic vision, de Paoli said: "I imagined a slender figure w i t h h i s a r m s s t r e t c h e d u p w a r d s t h a t o n t i p t o e seems to levitate from the ground and accompany the flight of two larks." The delivery of the scale model to Walla Walla was six months in the making. This past September, Wash- ington residents on a trip w i t h t h e I t a l i a n H e r i t a g e Association of Walla Walla m e t w i t h C a n n a r a M a y o r Fabrizio Gareggia who pre- sented the statue to associa- tion board member Ashley Castillo. The model was then shipped to Washington state where it arrived on February 24, 2025. Walla Walla's model with b a s e i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 5 inches tall. There are only two others in existence: one is in the office of the mayor of Cannara and the other was presented to Pope Fran- cis on December 11, 2023. Walla Walla appreciates the significance of the gift f r o m i t s s i s t e r c i t y . " W e thank Cannara for the gift of friendship and the lovely s t a t u t e o f S t . F r a n c i s o f A s s i s i , " s a i d W a l l a W a l l a Mayor Tom Scribner. "It's been placed in our City Man- ager's office complex, visible for all who visit. We look for- ward to continued sister-city v i s i t s a n d e x c h a n g e s between our two towns." To most Northwest resi- dents, Walla Walla is syn- onymous with sweet onions. S i m i l a r l y , C a n n a r a i s t h e onion capital of Italy; its onions are so revered that a w e e k l o n g o n i o n f e s t i v a l (Festa della Cipolla) attracts about 150,000 visitors each September. It was the connection to onions that brought Walla Walla and Cannara together – w i t h a l i t t l e h e l p f r o m Antonio Baldaccini, CEO of UmbraGroup, whose sub- sidiary Umbra Cuscinetti I n c . , a n a e r o s p a c e p a r t s company, is located north of Seattle. The Baldaccini family has been involved with Cannara onions for generations. In 1 8 8 2 , G i u l i o B a l d a c c i n i r e f e r r e d t o t h e C a n n a r a o n i o n a s a " s p e c i a l c r o p " because it required the use of a spade, careful fertiliza- tion and land suitable for irrigation. Antonio Baldaccini grew u p i n C a n n a r a a n d l i v e d there until he was 20, when he moved to the US to study and work. While on a work assignment at Umbra Cus- cinetti in Everett, Washing- t o n , B a l d a c c i n i w a s s u r - p r i s e d t o l e a r n t h a t t h e Northwest capital of sweet onions was in nearby Walla Walla. He took it upon him- self to meet the mayor of Walla Walla and began to plant the seeds of a sister- city friendship with his birth town. In September 2014, Jim Barrow, a Walla Walla city councilman, traveled to Can- n a r a t o m e e t w i t h M a y o r G a r e g g i a . T h e f o l l o w i n g year, a pact of friendship between the two cities was signed, opening the door to s t u d e n t a n d c u l t u r a l exchanges, and enabling the exchange of traditions and techniques associated with onion cultivation. "Many residents of Walla Walla have Italian heritage," said Mayor Scribner. "We are fortunate to have them here, contributing in many ways to make Walla Walla vibrant, friendly, and alive. All reports by residents who h a v e v i s i t e d C a n n a r a describe it in a similar way: a vibrant, open and friendly city." Cannara is the fourth Ital- ian sister city in Washington state. The others are Seattle- Perugia, Spokane-Cagli, and Auburn-Mola di Bari. RITA CIPALLA Walla Walla and Cannara linked by sculpture of St. Francis Besides Walla Walla's sculpture, only two other models of the de Paoli sculpture exist; one was presented to Pope Francis on Dec. 11, 2023, and the second is on display in Cannara's city hall (Photo: Vatican Media) The original statue of Saint Francis in Piandarca (Photo: francescoapiandarca.it)

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