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Avignon, place du Palais.Flag-throwing during festivities celebrating the twinning with the Italian city of Siena.
In 1977 – AMA182Fi580/1
Siena, in the Tuscany region, was twinned with Avignon in 1961, following two years of correspondence. The context of the photograph presented here is not well documented. However, notes made by the photographer on the storage envelopes suggest that it captures a performance by a Sienese delegation.
It likely alludes to the Palio, held twice a year in Siena’s vast Piazza del Campo. This medieval horse race is preceded by a grand parade of participants and a flag-throwing display, with each district of the city represented in this highly codified ritual.
Here, the Avignon ceremony takes place in another symbolic open space, at the foot of the Palais des Papes. In the background, the photograph reveals the façade of the Petit Palais museum. Opened in 1976, this museum of medieval art (now known as the Louvre in Avignon) houses works by Italian Primitives from the renowned Campana collection.
The photograph thus highlights, in two ways, the cultural dialogue fostered through twinning initiatives.
Press photographer Maurice Costa (full name Costagliola) joined the Avignon office of Le Provençal in 1955. Between 1950 and 1991, through more than 2,500 assignments representing nearly 40 000 negatives, he captured an exceptionally wide range of subjects, reflecting the diversity of a local newspaper’s coverage.
Rich and of outstanding quality, the Costa collection offers a vivid portrayal of daily life in Avignon, marked by a sharp eye, a keen sense of timing, and strong compositional skill. It was acquired by the City of Avignon for its Archives Department in 2023.
Bourges - brass band of the Peterborough delegation.
In 1982 – 29W7
This negative shows the Peterborough brass band parading through the streets of Bourges, the English town twinned with Bourges since 1957.
From 17 to 25 April 1982, the two mayors-keen to bring the twinning to life beyond formal exchanges-organised a Franco-British Week.
It was a major event in the making: over the course of these few days, nearly 300 people, members of various clubs and associations, travelled from England to visit the residents of Bourges.
“Bourges has, for the past few days, been living on English time.” This phrase sets the tone for a week rich in encounters and festivities.
British associations “exchange with their counterparts in Bourges on a wide range of topics, from social life and culture to leisure and sport.” Numerous celebrations are also organised. To mark the arrival of the English delegation, a brass band of several dozen musicians parades through the streets of the city centre — a moment captured by the photographers of the City of Bourges.
These photographs, including the document shown here, belong to a strictly photographic collection. File 29W7 contains images from numerous twinning visits between 1977 and 1985, but with little more than a brief indication of the city concerned (“Peterborough, 1982”).
Further research makes it possible to place these photographs in context by drawing on other archival collections. In this case, it is the correspondence from the mayor’s office (reference 96W109) that provides insight into the context of this Franco-British Week.
Châteauroux.
On October 15, 1977 – 13W825
La coupe ci-contre, mesurant 21,5 cm de hauteur sur 12 cm de diamètre, est conservée aux archives municipales de Saint-Amand. Elle est fabriquée dans un matériau métallisé doré avec un socle en marbre blanc. Elle provient du fonds documentaire du service des sports. Les informations relatives à l’événement sont en revanche tirées du fonds documentaire du service du protocole.
Il s’agit du trophée reçu par les jeunes de Saint-Amand-Montrond lors du tournoi de football qui a été organisé par Nottuln en 2001 (échange franco-allemand entre mars et juin). Sur le trophée est indiquée l’association allemande DJK Grün-Weiss Nottuln représentant le sport jeunesse. Le tournoi s’est déroulé sur trois jours et a rassemblé de jeunes joueurs de football allemands, français, polonais, hollandais et anglais.
Après un premier tournoi qui s’est déroulé le 31 mars à Saint-Amand-Montrond, comptant 18 équipes de jeunes jusqu’à 13 ans, aux stades Gesset et Durand, Nottuln organisait les 25 ans de son tournoi de football fin mai-début juin. Des joueurs de Saint-Amand ont été invités à la DJK de Nottuln à la Pentecôte (Pfingsten) pour participer au tournoi outre-Rhin et ont remporté un premier prix.
Le sport était important dans ces échanges culturels. En effet, en novembre 2001, lors de la rencontre annuelle du marché de Saint-Martin à Nottuln, les Saint-Amandois ont d’abord été reçus au stade de sport de la DJK.
Comme l’a écrit le maire de Saint-Amand Serge Vinçon dans un discours sur « Saint-Amand ma ville » en 2001, à propos du cyclisme, Saint-Amand est une « ville en or, ville en sport ».
Summary
A twinning is more than the signing of an agreement between two municipal teams. Above all, it is a testament to a lasting friendship between two communities.
During the visit of a delegation, it is customary to organise a celebration so that residents can come together and mark this shared bond. These events may take the form of performances, parades, brass bands, or other popular festivities.
These events may be organised for a variety of occasions. The most significant, of course, is the signing of the twinning agreement by the mayors of both cities. Musical celebrations, as in Châteauroux, help to mark the beginning of a lasting bond of friendship-one that is sustained through the regular renewal of such encounters.
This is also the case in Bourges, where a large delegation from Peterborough came to celebrate 25 years of twinning in festive style. These celebrations, designed to bring the two communities closer together, offer associations a valuable opportunity to exchange, express themselves, and share their culture-as illustrated by the Sienese delegation’s flag-throwing performance during its visit to Avignon.
These photographic archives play an essential role in preserving the continuity of twinning relationships. When context is lacking in certain photographic collections, it can be reconstructed by cross-referencing complementary archives, enabling a deeper understanding of the events and their significance.
In this way, the universal practice of twinning allows each city, in its own way, to share its history and culture.