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Verona, ITALY

About Verona, Italy
Exchange Opportunities
Student Exchange Program
About Verona, Italy

Verona lies in a rich valley in the Veneto Region of Italy. It's halfway between Venice, which is one hour to the East and Milan, which is one hour to the West.

Surrounding this old Roman city is the Valpolicella wine region on one side, the Soave region on the other and the Bardolino on the third. The great mountains of the Dolomite complete this city's stunning location.

Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy is about 20 minutes away and is surrounded by small, picturesque villages that can be traveled to by car or by ferry.

The City of Fresno partnered with the City of Verona in November, 2000. Verona is a magnificent old Roman city on the Adige River with around 275,000 inhabitants.  It sits about halfway between Milan and Venice and one of its main tourist attractions is its annual outdoor opera venue held in it’s 2,000 year old Roman amphitheater.  All the famous opera stars have sung before huge crowds and it continues to draw opera lovers from around the world every June through August. (Plàcido Domingo will perform on July 21, 2017.)  It is because of this partnership that contact was made for Andrea Bocelli to sing in Fresno in 2007 and again in 2010.
 
One of Shakespeare’s plays, “Romeo & Juliet' was set in Verona and Juliet’s balcony is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.  It’s considered good luck to rub the breast of her bronze statue. The lovelorn leave their letters, asking Juliet to intercede on their behalf.  Each letter is answered by a volunteer group of Verona women ...and so the tradition continues…
Exchange Opportunities

Verona became a Sister City with Fresno in 2008 and since its inception has participated in four delegation trips including one by the Mayor of Verona to Fresno to meet then Mayor Ashley Swearengin.  While keeping this active relationship with our Veronese friends, we work hard to develop a committee to best reflect a well-rounded delegation that best represents our community.  Largely an agricultural region, Verona was the perfect city to partner with in order to share knowledge of similar environments, increase agricultural trade and better understand others around the world.

How do I join a delegation trip?

If you would like to be considered as a delegate member for the Fresno Sister Cities program, you must first become at paid member of the group (Cost $40) which allows you to serve on our committee. The Verona committee is comprised of 8-12 members of the community who plan delegation trips, host delegation trips from Verona and annual fundraisers to raise awareness for the program and assist in travel costs for delegates. Verona is actively looking for new members in the fields of:

-Education

-Enology (Winemakers)

-Agriculture (Predominantly fruits and nuts)

-Water

-Health

-Community Engagement

-Culinary Arts (Italian)

-Law Enforcement

-Economic Development

-Technology

How often do you travel to Verona?

Since its inception, there have only been two delegation trips to Verona, Italy in 2008 and 2012.

What are the costs?

Delegates must cover travel and food expenses to Verona while all lodging is covered by the Verona Sister City program. Delegations will host a handful of fundraising efforts to offset the costs of the trip. In the past, all tours and wine trips were hosted by the City of Verona.

Student Exchange Program

If you are in the education sector and interested in creating a student exchange program between Verona and Fresno, please contact Sarah Moffat at Sarah@fullcirclebrewing.com. 

Here's a little bit of what you'll experience

Interested in joining?

We're excited that you're interested in participating in our Sister Cities Exchange Program. Please visit our membership page for more information and click here once you're ready to join.