Mayor’s town twinning visit to Fano, Italy, “strengthens ties”
The longstanding ties between St Albans and the Italian town of Fano have been strengthened by an official Mayoral visit.
St Albans has been twinned since 1998 with Fano, a resort town on the east coast, near Rimini, which also has extensive Roman ruins.
St Albans Mayor, Councillor Anthony Rowlands, and Mayoress, Annie Stevenson, travelled to the town to experience the Carnival and meet with civic officials and residents.
Fano’s carnival is the oldest one in Italy, dating back to 1347. It is held over three weekends and features tens of thousands of sweets being thrown from spectacular floats to enthusiastic crowds.
Among the highlights of the trip was a meeting with Fano’s Mayor, Massimo Seri, at the town hall when gifts were exchanged.
Cllr Rowlands presented Mayor Seri with Prof Mark Freeman’s recently revised and republished book on the history of St Albans. He also made a short speech in Italian
Several community groups, including the charity Friends Without Borders which organised the visit, were present at the reception.
Cllr Rowlands said:
I am delighted to have visited Fano during my year in office to strengthen the ties between our two towns.
These bonds now go back more than a quarter of a century and hopefully will continue for many years to come.
It is important that we maintain close links with the people and cultures of other nations and town twinning is a good way of doing that.
The Mayor's trip did not incur any expense to St Albans City and District Council.
Photos: top, Cllr Rowlands, Mayor of St Albans City and District, 2nd right, presents his gift to Fano Mayor, Massimo Seri; bottom, scene from the Fano carnival.
Media Contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, 01727 819533; john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.
