Pannese Society delegation travels to Italy for ‘Sister City’ pact signing

Posted

Joseph Spremulli, elder statesman of the Pannese Society, walked around his son’s home at 21 Deer View Road in Johnston wearing a smile that seemed brighter than Monday’s sparkling sun.

“These are exciting times for the Pannese Society,” Spremulli said, while watching his son Louis and Pasquale Simone lift and weigh all types of jam-packed luggage. “We are about to make history, my friend.”

Preparations were being made for a historic journey that will lead to today’s signing of the unique “Sister City” agreement between Johnson and the town of Panni in the Foggia region of Italy.

In fact, at approximately 2:30 this afternoon, the Johnston Senior Center will provide a reception area where people can actually watch the official signing of the pact, which Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena and Panni Mayor Pasquale Ciruolo signed last July.

Louis Spremulli will represent Polisena and complete the signing of the extraordinary document in Panni.

“The entire historic signing will be Skyped back to Johnston,” said Lou Mansolillo, an active member of the Pannese Society and one of 18 people making the pilgrimage to Panni. “A lot of people are excited about what this trip could potentially mean for people here and in Italy.”

Louis Spremulli, who is actually the person responsible for the international exchange, offered: “Our main reason for this trip is to participate in the Sister City celebration between Panni and Johnston. Mayor Polisena was unable to attend and has given me the honor of signing the official document in Italy.”

The hope, he added, is that the agreement leads to student exchanges, tourism, and Italian heritage education.

Next year, the Pannese Society – with help from the Johnston Public Schools – will begin its student exchange program by sending five Johnston High School students to Panni.

Early this year, a highly successful fundraiser was held to finance that program, but as Louis Spremulli said Monday, “we’ll be having another similar event to fund what will obviously be another historic trip.”

He explained that the current trip is being paid for by the 18 travelers, and that money raised in the Pannese Society’s recent fundraiser will only be used for the students’ travel expenses. He also announced Johnston school officials are developing a formula to select the students who will make that first journey to Italy next year.

Meanwhile, the Pannese Society delegation left Johnston Monday via a Knight’s Transportation motor coach and went to Logan International Airport in Boston, where they boarded a Lufthansa Airlines jet.

“We’ll fly direct to Frankfurt, Germany, then it’s on to Naples,” Louis Spremulli said. “The first couple of days will be quite busy. We’ll be attending a number of greeting receptions as well as the annual feast and festival in Panni.”

Panni, located in the hills of Foggia, has a population of approximately 800 people. However, that total will swell to about 3,000 this week when Italians travel for miles and miles to join what Louis Spremulli said is “one of the most unique feasts and festivals our people will ever see.”

“This entire trip was not easy to plan,” he added. “We had a number of meetings, and it seemed like we all had a number of duties to complete before we could actually finalize the trip. But everything fell into place and now we can complete our mission of signing the Sister City agreement.”

Louis Spremulli said the 18-member Pannese Society group will participate in a number of special events while in Panni, beginning with a private reception with the mayor in town hall as well as the annual parade and procession that’s part of the feast and festival.

“They’re even gong to hold a concert for our society,” he said. “We’re told there will be a Latin-American dance contest, Italian singers, fireworks at a soccer field, a procession, and several different meals.”

While the officials of Panni will be rolling out the red carpet for the Pannese Society delegation, the group is armed with a number of gifts for their gracious hosts.

“We’re bringing a state of Rhode Island flag as well as state pins,” Louis Spremulli said. “Gov. [Gina] Raimondo signed a picture of the State House, and we’re going to present that during the signing. We also have a letter for the signing document from Mayor Polisena and gifts from the Johnston High School.”

He also wanted it known: “We’re bringing a six-foot and 12-foot banner, one that we’ll carry in the procession and another that will hang over the town hall in Panni. We’re also going to present Mayor Pasquale a painting of Rhode Island, desk pieces, and special gift bags for his administration. This is only the beginning of what we hope the Sister City program will become.”

The group will be in Panni until Sunday, and then make stops in Rome, Venice, and Florence before turning home on Sept. 4.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here