It was my pleasure and my honour today to be raising the Italian flag at Guelph City Hall!
On behalf of the City of Guelph, I gave a warm welcome to over 35 guests visiting from the Comune of Altivole, and particular to Mayor Sergio Baldin.
I would like to take a moment to thank two local citizens who organized this visit: Sidonio Brombal and Sandra Pobega. Many locals came today for the greeting! Thank you very much for all your work!
The Comune of Altivole is located in the Treviso region, and as many may know, Treviso and Guelph are Twin Cities. Guelph City Council signed the Twinning Agreement in 2007.
The Twinning Agreement made it official, but for many decades before that, there were already strong ties between Guelph and Treviso.
Many members of Guelph’s large and vibrant Italian community came here from the Treviso region.
They settled here, raised families here, worked here, and opened businesses here. And, at the same time, they maintained and celebrated their Italian culture in their new home. That Italian culture is an important part of Guelph – and can be seen in such institutions as the Italian Canadian Club, where I’ll be having dinner together with them tomorrow night.
While Treviso and Guelph are many thousands of kilometres apart – we have a lot in common, including strong manufacturing and agricultural sectors.
As Twin Cities, my hope is that both economic and cultural ties will look to grow.
Once again, to our visitors: We are very happy to have you with us. I hope you enjoy your visit.
Welcome to Guelph! Benvenuto a Guelph!