PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It was 30 years ago when an air conditioning company from Pittsfield went to Cava de Tirreni in Italy for a job.

That trip started longtime friendship between the two cities.

Through the Sister City program, Pittsfield has been partnered with Cava De Tirreni and residents of both cities have traveled between them.

 

The cities launched an exchange program allowing students to study and learn the culture of one another. 

 

On Friday that relationship continued when the city welcomed Nicola Pisapia, the chairman of the Sister City Committee in Cava and chamber of commerce director in Napals, and former Cava Vice Mayor Vincenzo Landolfi. The two will be spending the weekend at a number of locations in the Berkshires getting to know the people and the sites.

 

"It's a long history and I have a lot of memories. Many people from Pittsfield have come to Cava and many people from Cava came here. It is a friendship going on day by day and years by years. It is a very important thing to do. This is history for us," Pisapia said.

 

He said Cava held a similar celebration in June with representative from Pittsfield. 

 

"The program is wonderful. We have enjoyed each moment that we've stayed here in Pittsfield. We do believe it is a very important moment, this one, because we are trying to connect people to talk with each other, we know each other, we know our culture," Pisapia said, adding that though there are three other sister cities of Cava, Pittsfield is one with a lot of Italian heritage making it seem more like family. "I think the city of Pittsfield is wonderful, not only as a place. The place is wonderful. We've seen wonderful places, wonderful lakes, wonderful forests, but especially the people. There are great people here in Pittsfield."

 

Mayor Linda Tyer said Italian heritage is still strong here. Her great-grandmother "was an amazing cook. We are still enjoying the legacy of her recipes and it's a very special thing for my family to have those foods when we come together." Her grandfather made wine. 

 

In Pittsfield, the train would arrive and there would be an exodus of workers going to get the grapes, she said. When her family sold their West Street home, she remembers "one of the most difficult things" was to clean out all of the old bottles of wine and wine making equipment.

 

"Many, many families have that memory and that experience. Still today, that Italian legacy is very important to our city," Tyer said.

 

The mayor said she's been to Italy many times and every times she "falls more and more in love with Italy" and she hopes the delegation from Cava does the same when the come here.

 

The celebration started in City Hall on Friday morning with an exchange of gifts. From there, the two Italians will go to the summit of Mount Greylock, play golf at Donnybrook, and eat at Matt Reillys. On Saturday, they'll attend the farmer's market, the Berkshire Carousel, and have an Italian American Club picnic. At night they will go to Tanglewood in Lenox for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

 

After Mass on Sunday, they'll take a private tour of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge and finish with a boat tour of Onota Lake. Pittsfield will wish the two farewell after a breakfast at Joanne's Luncheonette on Monday.