France/Montcuq-en-Quercy-Blanc. Why Montcuq is twinned with two Italian towns

Montcuq is unique in having two twinning committees with Italy, one with Cinigiano in Tuscany, the other with San Giorgio della Richinvelda in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

The first twinning agreement, sponsored by the European Union, was signed in Cinigiano in 2003 by then mayor Daniel Maury. Several fruitful exchanges have taken place between the two towns, with a few key dates: in 2013, the visit of an Italian delegation to the Rue des enfants festival, and the return trip to Italy by Montcuquois in 2014 to take part in a spectacular grape festival. Then, in 2016 and 2018, meetings were held around choral singing with vocal ensembles from both regions. But the ties between the two communities have grown strained, and we're looking for ways to give the twinning a new impetus.

For the twinning with San Giorgio della Richinvelda, signed in 2012 by Guy Lagarde, mayor of Montcuq, the situation is identical, and relations with Italy, although still in existence, are difficult. The language barrier and the distance between the two towns partly explain this situation. Yet the story of Bertrand de Saint-Géniès, born in Montcuq in 1260 and appointed Patriarch of Aquileia and Duke of Friuli by Pope John XXII at the age of 74, is quite extraordinary. Assassinated in battle in 1350, the Lotois is buried in Udine Cathedral, and many pilgrims gather at the site of his death, where a stele and chapel have been erected in his memory. Here, too, many festive and friendly exchanges have taken place between the two communities, with the involvement of the Alliance franco-italienne de Toulouse.

In 2022, the association, chaired by Michel Tepey, took a new turn and decided to move closer to Larmor-Plage, in Morbihan, a town twinned for 38 years with Youghal (County Cork), in Ireland. That year, a friendship charter was signed in Larmor-Plage by the town's mayor, Patrice Valton, and Alain Lalabarde, mayor of Montcuq, accompanied by a delegation of eight members of the twinning committee. In September 2024, a new milestone was reached at Cork County Hall, where the elected representatives of Larmor-Plage, Montcuq and Youghal solemnly signed a friendship charter in the presence of 38 representatives from Larmor-Plage and six from Montcuq. The three towns recognize their ties of friendship and cooperation, and pledge to foster a relationship based on mutual respect, shared values and a common and better vision of the future. A fine example of cooperation between three European regions, representing land and sea.

Source: www.ladepeche.fr/