Giorgio La Pira was the first Mayor of Florence to sign a Sister City Agreement in 1954; he firmly believed that it was an important instrument to promote world peace. Reims in France became thus Florence’s first Sister City. Giorgio La Pira was for many years Chairman of the World Federation of Sister Cities. The tendency was at first to establish relationships with European and Mediterranean cities and to overlook the Eastern block. In recent times Sister City agreements have been intended for establishing links of co-operation on economic, democratic, social levels with cities of the southern hemisphere. To know some of Florence Sister Cities better, you can visit their web sites.

REIMS (France) Hotel de Ville 51096 Reims Cedex (France) The agreement was signed on July 3rd, 1954 by Mayors Giorgio La Pira and Renè Bride.

KASSEL (Germany) Stadt Kassel Rathaus 34112 Kassel (Germany) The agreement has never been signed but Florence and Kassel consider themselves sister cities since 1958.

FES (Morocco) Président de la Communauté Urbaine de Fès FES (Morocco) The agreement was signed on September 7th, 1961 by Mayors Giorgio La Pira and Bensalem El-Kohen.

PHILADELPHIA (U.S.A.) 1680 Municipal Services Bldg. Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 1684 U.S.A. The agreement was signed on October 11th, 1964 by Mayors Giorgio La Pira and James H. J. Tate.

EDINBURGH (United Kingdom) City Chambers High Street Edinburgh EH1 1YJ – Great Britain The agreement was signed on May 28th, 1965 by Mayor Lelio Lagorio and the Lord Provost Duncan M. Weatherstone.

KYOTO (Japan) City Hall Teramachi-Oike, Nakagyo-Ku Kyoto 604 (Japan) The agreement was signed on September 22nd, 1965 by Mayors Lelio Lagorio and Gizo Takayama.

KIEV (Ukraine) Predsetatel Gorispolkoma Kiev 36, Khreschatyk Str. 252044 Kiev (Ukraine) The agreement was signed on July 27th, 1967 by Mayors Piero Bargellini and Mikhail Burka.

DRESDEN (Germany) Landeshauptstadt Dresden Dr. Kulz-Ring 19 01067 Dresden (Germany) The agreement was signed on May 30th, 1978 by Mayors Elio Gabbuggiani and Gerhard Schill.

NANJING (People’s Republic of China) 41 East Beijing Road Nanjing (China) The agreement was signed on February 22nd, 1980 by Mayors Elio Gabbuggiani and Lin Hujia.

KUWAIT CITY (Kuwait) Bayan Palace P.O. Box 799 (Safat) 13008 Kuwait The agreement was signed on November 29th, 1991 by Mayor Giorgio Morales and Nasser Mohamed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Minister for Urban Areas.

SALVADOR BAHIA (Brazil) Prefeitura Municipal - Palacio de Souza Praça Municipal – Salvador Bahia (Brazil) The agreement was signed on May 30th, 1991 by Mayors Giorgio Morales and Fernando Josè Guimaraes Rocha.

SYDNEY (Australia) The Town Hall Sydney 2000 – NSW (Australia) The agreement was signed on August 3rd, 1991 by Mayors Giorgio Morales and Frank Sartor.

ASMARA (Eritrea) The City Council of Asmara P.O. Box 259 ASMARA (Eritrea) The agreement was signed on October 13th, 1992 by Mayors Giorgio Morales and Andemikael Kahssai.

TURKU (Finland) Turun Kaupunki Keskusvirasto Turku (Finland) The agreement was signed on February 12th, 1992 by Mayors Giorgio Morales and Iuhani Leppa.

AAIUN (Arab Democratic Republic of Sahara) The agreement was signed on March 9th, 1996 by Mayors Mario Primicerio and Ahmed Hammedi.

NAZARETH (Israel) P.O. Box 31 16100 Nazareth (Israel) The agreement was signed on March 25th, 1996 by Mayors Mario Primicerio and Ramiz Jaraisy.

RIGA (Latvia) The agreement was signed on April 19th, 2000 by Eugenio Giani, Deputy Mayor for Sister Cities, and Juris Visockis, delegate of the Mayor of Riga.

TIRANA (Albania) The agreement was signed on February 26th, 2001 by Mayors Leonardo Domenici and Edi Rama. Data by the Mayor’s Office for International Relationships.

For more information visit

• http://www.comune.fi.it/inglese/