News

Hendersonville adds sister city in Italy

Mayor Volk signs Sister City agreement in Verbania, Italy.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 30, 2015

Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk and Vice Mayor Marinella Franzetti of Verbania, Italy, signed agreements on last week to become official international sister cities. The signing ceremony took place Wednesday in City Hall in Verbania, with about 50 people attending.

Representatives from Hendersonville Sister Cities (HSC) board of directors and officials from the Twinning organization in Verbania were present. The Sister Cities organization is known as “Twinning” in Europe.
Volk presented to the city of Verbania a book on the history of Hendersonville and a city flag. Verbania Vice Mayor Franzetti presented a book on Verbania to Mayor Volk. The board of Hendersonville Sister Cities gifted the new sister city with a framed print of downtown Hendersonville by local artist Ann Vasilik. A reception followed featuring Italian pastries made by the president of Verbania’s Twinnings organization. Later in the week, Mayor Volk and Verbania Mayor Silvia Marchionini met to exchange Mayor-to-Mayor gifts.
During the 10-day visit to the area, Hendersonville Sister Cities ambassadors visited a high school to participate in a roundtable discussion with 80 students interested in learning about American career choices and the possibility of developing virtual exchange programs for high school students in both cities. Nearly 30 Hendersonville residents traveled to Verbania to witness the formal signing of the documents and to learn more about the area. Costs for the trip were paid by individuals attending.
Verbania, Italy, which is now Hendersonville’s second sister city, is in a mountainous area 50 miles northwest of Milan, on Lake Maggiore near the Italian border with Switzerland. HSC board member and restaurateur Renzo Maietto, a former resident of Verbania, proposed that the city be considered as Hendersonville’s second sister city.

Marco Zacchera, a former mayor and local businessman in Verbania helped facilitate the partnership from the Italian side. After months of correspondence and research the HSC board voted to partner with Verbania. The Verbania Twinnings organization returned the favor. The goal is to foster educational, cultural, travel, and economic exchanges.
“We discovered that Henderson County and Verbania have a number of similarities,” HSC board president Karen Hultin reported. “Mountains surround both towns, each area has wineries, and both towns have small, central business districts. Tourism and agriculture have significant economic impact in both locations. Government jurisdictions are similar as well – for example, Hendersonville is the county seat of Henderson County, and Verbania is the capital of the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.”
Almuñécar, Spain, is also a Sister City with Hendersonville.
Hendersonville Sister Cities is a nonprofit organization formed in 2007 to foster and celebrate international cooperation and understanding and local economic growth through education, exploration of other cultures, travel, and social interaction.
Hendersonville Sister Cities regularly hosts educational and cultural programs and international dinners. The organization is a member of Sister Cities International, a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network seeking stronger economic and cultural ties at the municipal level between U.S. and international communities.