Caledon and Isola del Liri are officially sister cities

August 3, 2023 · 0 Comments

Mayor Annette Groves and Councillor Tony Rosa attended signing ceremony in Italy

By Zachary Roman

Caledon has a sister city.

On July 17, Caledon Mayor Annette Groves was in Isola del Liri for a ceremony to officially sign a sister city agreement between the two municipalities.

Ward 5 Councillor Tony Rosa, who was in Italy with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary at the time, attended the ceremony as well and acted as translator since he speaks fluent Italian.

Caledon and Isola del Liri have been working on their partnership since August of 2022 and plan to make the most of their new agreement.

“This cultural exchange is a wonderful opportunity both municipalities can benefit from…” said Groves in a statement. “This twinning agreement will grow our public art, heritage and tourism.”

Public art, heritage and tourism are the three initiatives that Caledon is going to be focusing on with the sister city partnership in 2023.

In an interview after the ceremony, Rosa said it was a wonderful experience. He said Isola del Liri arranged for a local band to come to their Council chambers and play the national anthems of both Italy and Canada.

Then, the mayors of the two municipalities formally signed the sister city agreement and there was a reception after.

“It was beautifully done in their Town hall… the reception outside was great too,” said Rosa. “We all had an opportunity to speak.”

Rosa said the mayor of Isola del Liri will be coming to visit Caledon from October 6 to 12, the perfect time to see the fall colours. Another signing ceremony will be held in Caledon during that time.

Joining Isola del Liri’s mayor will be members of the municipality’s economic development and tourism teams.

“We want them to see the beauty of our municipality,” said Rosa. “We’re currently working on an itinerary and we look forward to hosting them in Caledon.”

Rosa said he’s a true believer that tourism will be one of Caledon’s major industries in the years to come. He said the sister city partnership really complements the work the Town is doing to bolster its tourism industry.

“It’s been a really rewarding experience,” said Rosa of working on the partnership. “I embraced it when I got elected… it was a dream at one point and now it’s become a reality.”