Making connections

CAPTIONS

Never underestimate the power of one person to make a difference, especially if that person has the vision, drive and reach of Pat Capriati.

In a matter of months, Capriati was able to conjure an American-Italian Sister Cities relationship out of thin air, bringing together good people on both sides of the Atlantic who otherwise never would have met.

It all started while Capriati was browsing through his Facebook feed.

“A post by the Roselle Sister Cities Association Italian Committee caught my eye,” he explains. “I was aware of the committee but I didn’t know their counterpart in Italy so I decided to do a little research.”

A conversation with committee chair Gina Vescovi revealed that the committee had been trying in vain to find an Italian town in Italy that was willing to team up with them.

“A committee member even went from town to town in Italy, basically knocking on doors without any luck,” he says.

Their luck changed when Capriati finally knocked back.

Active in the Chicago-area Italian-American community for decades, he has made a career of building bridges between the two nations.

“I’ve devoted my personal and professional life to deepening my understanding and appreciation of my Italian roots, culture and traditions, and sharing them within our Italian and Italian-American community and with anyone interested in learning about our rich history,” he explains.

While working as an international finance manager for the state of Illinois’ Export Development Authority in the 1990s, he launched the state’s first-ever Italy-Illinois trade initiative.

As a senior officer for the Italian Trade Agency since 1993, he has led countless official delegations of buyers from U.S. supermarket chains to Italy’s major food-and-beverage trade exhibitions.

And in October of 2023, Capriati led a delegation of elected officials from his native region of Puglia as part of a massive business and cultural initiative he spearheaded under the auspices of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans during Italian American Heritage Month.

One of those elected officials was Giuseppe Colonna, mayor of Mola di Bari, where Capriati was born and raised. Colonna couldn’t have been more receptive when Capriati approached him with a proposal to forge a Sister Cities alliance with the city of Roselle.

The initial connection being made, letters and video calls began to flow between the municipalities.

“We envision a growing awareness and appreciation of each other’s culture and people,” Vescovi wrote. “From small beginnings, we hope that this partnership will continue for many generations, fostering educational, economic and professional exchanges. We look forward to the limitless possibilities of this relationship.”

“I have received with immense pleasure your letter in which you propose establishing a dialogue so that our cities of Roselle and Mola di Bari can sign a Sister Cities agreement,” Colonna responded. “For us, it represents a wonderful opportunity to expand the benefits for mutual social, cultural and commercial growth of our communities.”

With a well-established committee in Roselle, Capriati is working with Colonna to assemble a committee in Mola di Bari.

“The most effective Sister Cities relationships have a strong citizen committee on both sides of the Atlantic,” he explains. “Typically they’re made up of representatives from the municipal, business, cultural and education sectors, all working together to move the relationship forward.”

If things go according to Capriati’s plans, a delegation from Roselle will head to Mola di Bari in September to sign their half of the agreement during the “Festa Grande” in honor of the Madonna Addolorata. In October, their Italian counterparts will travel to Roselle to do the same during Italian American Heritage Month.

In the meantime, Capriati will be hard at work rallying the area’s 10 other Italian Sister Cities committees into a council under the auspices of the JCCIA to share expertise and resources.

“In an age when the world finds it difficult to find common ground,” Capriati says, “I prefer to devote my time and energy to building bridges and bringing people together.”

The article above appears in the March 2025 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture. To subscribe, click here.