L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TRADITIONS C i t y t w i n n i n g s o u n d s l i k e paperwork until you look at what actually happens between certain American and Italian cities: far from b e i n g r a n d o m h a n d s h a k e agreements where two may- o r s s m i l e f o r a p h o t o a n d never speak again, the pair- ings are often built on identi- ty, memory, industry, or even shared personality. We've talked before about Seattle and Perugia and Assisi and San Francisco, but those stories are just one piece of a larger pattern, and the more you look at these sister cities, the more it feels like a map of how Italy and the United States see each other. The friendship between Seattle and Perugia is a good p l a c e t o s t a r t b e c a u s e i t shows how personal these links can get. The two cities formalized their twin city sta- tus in the early 1990s, and their connection has been g r o w i n g m o r e a n d m o r e active by the year, with the S e a t t l e - P e r u g i a S i s t e r City Association organizing language exchanges, cooking courses, and film events. Del- egations travel regularly in both directions: Perugia offi- cials, for instance, were in S e a t t l e f o r t h e 3 0 - y e a r anniversary of the Associa- tion and met civic leaders, toured coffee roasters, and talked about future collabora- tions. This is, clearly, real civic contact, which comes with a just as clear subtext: Seattle and Perugia see each other as partners with specif- ic cultures, food identities, u n i v e r s i t y s c e n e s , a n d rhythms they are willing to share. Where Seattle and Perugia lean on cultural exchange, Milan and Chicago lean on power: Milan is Italy's capital of design, finance, and indus- try; Chicago is the American city that built its global iden- tity on architecture, engineer- ing, logistics, and business muscle. Twinned since the 1960s, their connection has been continuously refreshed t h r o u g h t r a d e m i s s i o n s , design weeks, Expo Milano 2015, and innovation visits. Both like to present them- selves as serious, outward- looking, efficient, and a little self-confident, something they fully and happily recog- nize in one another. Then there's San Fran- c i s c o a n d A s s i s i , t w o places that couldn't seem more different and yet form one of the most meaningful and poetic pairings of all. Their sister-city agreement, signed in 1969, is rooted in the figure of Saint Francis, who gives the cities their name and spirit. On the Ital- ian side, the bond is often described as "exclusive," and it really is: Assisi is famously careful in granting official ties, and its link with San Francisco is treated almost like a vow. In truth, it's easy to see why the connection feels so natural: one is a Cali- fornian city known for free- dom of thought, activism, and constant reinvention; the other, a small Umbrian hill town built on humility, imag- ination, and the message of a saint who embraced poverty and equality; together, they tell a story of shared values and humanity. Florence brings a differ- ent kind of story to the idea of sister cities: not a single American partner, but sever- al narratives. Its official link with Philadelphia dates back to 1964 and was pre- sented, quite openly, as "the cradle of the Renaissance meets the birthplace of the United States." The parallel truly made sense, because Philadelphia calls itself the home of American indepen- d e n c e a n d F l o r e n c e i s , indeed, the home of that cul- tural and civic humanism we consider the root of modern Europe. Both are founding cities in their own way. Over time, however, Florence's c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e U S expanded informally toward Providence, Rhode Island, through festivals, student exchanges, and, in fact, a shared sense of recovery. After the devastating flood that struck Florence in 1966, A m e r i c a n v o l u n t e e r s a n d donors helped restore the city's art and archives, and Providence, a coastal city familiar with its own floods, embraced Florence as a sister in resilience. Rome complicates things in a very Roman way. Offi- cially, the Eternal City has one true twin, Paris, as the two capitals signed an exclu- sive pact in 1956 and like to say they are each other's only "real" sister city – which, by the way, is exactly the kind of grand romantic claim you would expect from them. But Rome is also Rome, which means rules bend: in 2011, it signed a sister city agreement with Washington, D.C., focused on cultural and edu- cational exchange, and on c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t w o centers of government and diplomacy. So even while Rome publicly insists that Paris is its one and only, it quietly maintains a channel with Washington at the capi- tal-to-capital level. You could call that diplomacy, or you c o u l d c a l l i t R o m e d o i n g what Rome has always done: k e e p i n g i n f l u e n c e w h e r e influence matters. Naples brings a different energy to the idea of sister cities, with a focus on joining global conversations on tech- nology, waterfronts, ports, and culture. While not an official twinning, the connec- tion between Naples and San Francisco represents t h i s s t r u c t u r e w e l l : o f t e n described in Italy with the phrase dal Vesuvio alla Sili- con Valley, their connection is based on the very simple c o n c e p t o f t w o b a y c i t i e s turning geography into an asset to trade talent, ideas, and visibility. Joint programs s o f a r h a v e r a n g e d f r o m startup exchanges to artistic collaborations, including a masterclass with San Fran- cisco Opera's young artists and Naples' Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella. Beyond that, Naples has explored links, both formal and informal, with American cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Memphis, Honolu- lu, and, naturally, Naples, Florida. Some of these stem from Italian-American com- munities with Campanian r o o t s , o t h e r s g r o w o u t o f shared themes like innova- tion or tourism. While not all are officially recognized con- nections, they fit the city's strategy to present itself as a southern hub where heritage, science, and creativity meet. But the list doesn't end there, and some of the small- er pairings might be the most revealing. Take Bologna and Portland, Oregon, which made their partner- s h i p o f f i c i a l i n 2 0 0 3 a n d have treated it almost like a shared lifestyle ever since: Bologna is one of Italy's great university cities, known for its food, bike-friendly streets, and progressive civic spirit; Portland projects a similar image on the American side. Neither city claims to be a financial powerhouse; they'd r a t h e r b e s e e n a s p l a c e s where quality of life, inde- pendent food culture, and openness matter more than s t a t u s . T h e i r e x c h a n g e s reflect that same spirit, with the spotlight on food festi- vals, student programs, and discussions on sustainable urban policy instead of busi- ness conferences and trade missions. Seen together, these con- nections form a kind of atlas of shared values. They show how Italy and the United S t a t e s r e c o g n i z e p a r t s o f t h e m s e l v e s i n e a c h o t h e r through art, faith, innova- tion, and the simple desire to connect. Some of these bonds are rooted in trade, others in memory or culture, but all suggest that cities, like peo- ple, reach out to those who mirror their own character. And when they find them, what begins as diplomacy often turns into friendship. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI P e r u g i a a n d S e a t t l e , M i l a n a n d Chicago: inside the Italy-USA twin city matchups Bologna (Photo: Sergey Dzyuba/Dreamstime) found a kindred spirit in Portland, Oregon (Photo: Melissa Jill Grimmet/Dreamstime)

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