Fung, Fenton welcomed in Cranston's sister city

By DANIEL KITTREDGE
Posted 3/13/19

By DANIEL KITTREDGE Cranston rolled out the red carpet late last year as it welcomed Antonio Fargiorgio, mayor of its sister city of Itri, Italy. Earlier this month, the small, historic Italian community renowned for its olive oil had the chance to do

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Fung, Fenton welcomed in Cranston's sister city

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Cranston rolled out the red carpet late last year as it welcomed Antonio Fargiorgio, mayor of its sister city of Itri, Italy.

Earlier this month, the small, historic Italian community renowned for its olive oil had the chance to do the same for Mayor Allan Fung and his wife, Barbara Ann Fenton.

“It was a phenomenal trip to Itri…We enjoyed] the opportunity to see our sister city and have Mayor Fargiorgio return the favor,” Fung said.

Fung and Fenton departed for a weeklong vacation to Italy on Valentine’s Day. Fenton had visited the Mediterranean nation previously, but for the mayor it was a first-time trip to Europe. The couple used Rome as their base, taking day trips to places like Venice and Florence. They also spent a day in Itri, receiving a warm welcome from its community.

Itri is a central part of Cranston’s past, the place of origin for many immigrants of Italian heritage who settled in the Knightsville area during the early part of the 20th century. The annual St. Mary’s Feast is part of a religious tradition that dates to Itri in the 8th century.

During their visit, Fung and Fenton took part in a ceremony at Itri’s City Hall, with the mayor signing a resolution “recommitting to the sister city relationship.” Flags were exchanged, and the proceedings were broadcast on Facebook Live. A regional television station was also on hand to capture the event.

“The chambers were filled. There were a lot of students that were there,” Fung said.

Fung and Fenton noted that they had the chance to meet the relatives of many Cranston residents, and there were many other connections to Rhode Island during their trip. Their translator, for example, had recently returned to Italy after studying at Johnson & Wales University. They visited a coffee shop to find its proprietor grew up on Federal Hill in Providence.

During their visit to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Civita, upon which St. Mary’s Church in Cranston is based, they saw a plaque bearing the names of people who had assisted in its restoration – many of whom were from Rhode Island.

“There were a lot of Cranston-based names, and they noted it with ‘USA,’” Fung said.

Itri’s City Hall is home to a number of items honoring the sister city relationship with Cranston, Fung and Fenton said. Newspaper clippings from when the relationship was established by former Mayor John O’Leary are displayed, along with a copy of a Maxwell Mays painting done to commemorate an initial visit to Cranston nearly two decades ago.

Fung and Fenton presented Fargiorgio with a framed copy of the Cranston Herald story from last year’s visit as a new addition for that collection.

“They really loved that as a nice gift commemorating his visit,” Fung said. “They’re really proud of that sister city relationship.”

Going forward, Fung said he hopes an exchange program will be established to allow students from each of the communities to experience life in the other. He wants students from both the eastern and western sides of the city to “see a different way of life and experience the culture” of Itri.

Fenton said she hopes the relationship also includes the sharing of the two cities’ respective St. Mary’s Feast experiences.

“They have amazing feasts over there,” she said. “They’re well known throughout Europe.”

Fung and Fenton also had the chance to experience Itri’s rich history. In addition to the City Hall ceremony, members of the community took the couple to see an ancient Roman road connecting Itri with the city of Fondi, as well as the Museum of Fra Diavolo and Brigandage, which is devoted to an infamous bandit from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

They also got to see the town’s castle and one of its towers, which is known as “del Coccodrillo,” or “Crocodile.”

“The took out an entire day,” Fenton said. “They were so sweet…They take great pride in their history.

Fung noted that Itri is working with its regional government to preserve the ancient Roman road.

“They are very much into preservation, and Mayor Fargiorgio is absolutely into it…It really shows how much our country is in its infancy stage compared to what you have in Europe,” he said.

Aside from the Itri trip, Fung and Fenton focused on enjoying Italy’s many cultural attractions.

“We were on duty for one day,” Fenton said with a laugh. “[Fung] had a whole bucket list of things he wanted to see.”

Fung called Italy’s train system “unbelievable,” noting that the couple’s trip from Rome to Venice – roughly the same distance as traveling from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C. – took less than four hours. Itri, he said, was roughly an hour from Rome, and the trip there was similar to taking the commuter rail into Boston.

At the Vatican, the couple took the Scavi Tour that travels below St. Peter’s Basilica, saw the Sistine Chapel and heard Pope Francis address the faithful. In Rome, they visited the Colosseum, which now allows tours of the subterranean tunnels that once led animals and gladiators into the arena.

In Florence, they saw Michelangelo’s “David.” In Venice, they took a gondola ride.

Fenton noted that throughout Italy, and particularly in Rome, tour guides are highly educated and deeply knowledgeable about their nation’s history.

“These tour guides are so detailed. It’s almost like a PowerPoint presentation,” she said.

Now back in Cranston, Fung and Fenton are already thinking ahead to another trip to Italy – and of ways to build on the city’s deep relationship with its Italian counterpart.

“It just turned out to be a great opportunity,” Fung said.

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