A Mayor With a Mission

The Mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino, is now in the United States with the objective of promoting the Italian capital on a more international scale. From December 10th until today, his agenda has been full of important meetings and other initiatives between the cities of New York and Washington D.C. His mission: bring to America a little bit of Italy and bring back to Italy a little bit of America “giving back to Rome the place and the role in the world that this city deserves,” said Mayor Marino in a recent press release.

Ignazio Marino, Mayor of Rome  

The Capitoline Hill  

Fori Imperiali  

This visit was intended to strengthen the relationship with the United States creating new channels of communication in order to increase the tourist flow into the Italian Capital and attract International investors boosting funds aimed to support the city’s artistic and cultural heritage.

After his visit to the Big Apple, where he met important institutional authorities like the Secretary of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon, the Consul General of Italy Natalia Quintavalle and the exiting Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, Marino flew to Washington to continue with his mission.

This morning Mayor Marino met Vincent C. Gray, Mayor of Washington, and signed the reaffirmation of the Sister City agreement between the city of Rome, Italy, and the District of Columbia. The agreement will strengthen the exchanges between the two cities with a special focus on youth and educational exchanges, as well as on social media outreach and other forms of electronic communication, tourism, economical development and on the continuation of art and cultural exchanges.

“I’m delighted that the District of Columbia and the city of Rome have once again reaffirmed our friendship and commitment to improving the lives of our residents,” affirmed Mayor Gray. “These types of agreements,” he continued, “are important in building the international ties that strengthen civil society and goodwill between nations. I look forward to our joint efforts and thank the Mayor of Rome for visiting our great city.”

“I am very pleased to renew this agreement that is part of a campaign to relaunch the image of Rome in the world”, said Mayor Marino. “Rome is a World Heritage Site: it has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for artists all over the world, the set of many masterpieces of Italian and foreign cinema. This is why,” Marino concluded, “we want to protect and enhance its beauty, wealth, traditions and legacy. In this context, the agreement with Washington is an excellent opportunity for Rome to continue sharing its culture and innovation in particular to younger generations.”

Moreover, in Washington D.C., Marino participated at the press conference for the presentation of the “Galata Morente,” the statue that Rome lent by Musei Capitolini to the National Gallery of Art of Washington. The event, part of the program known as “Dreams of Rome,” saw also the participation of the Italian Ambassador in the US, Claudio Bisognero.