France/ After a 10-year hiatus, this Sarthe town's twinning committee rekindles ties with Italy
After a 10-year break, Le Lude's twinning committee with Genazzano is back in action. Marie-Anne Corbel, who took part in the last trip in 2015, is behind it.
Born in 2004 under former mayor Gérard Denizet, the twinning committee of Le Lude(Sarthe) with the Italian town of Genazzano, located 40 km south of Rome, is coming back to life at the end of 2025.
Having been dormant for some ten years, since the last cultural exchange between the two towns in 2015, the association is back in action this year, under the leadership of Marie-Anne Corbel, a former municipal councillor and active volunteer in the commune.
After a 10-year hiatus, the Sarthe town's twinning committee is back in action.
"I took part in the last exchange in 2015 when I was a municipal councillor. The association went dormant immediately afterwards. As I had kept in touch with people there, I was able to relaunch the twinning this year. I wanted Le Lude to renew its ties with Genazzano, because these are two towns that are very similar," explains Marie-Anne Corbel.
French delegation on site
After consulting the mayors of the two towns, who informed Marie-Anne Corbel of their desire to renew ties, a delegation from Le Lude travelled to Italy last July.
The delegation comprised Marie-Anne Corbel, deputy mayor Laurence Hutereau and local councillor Anaïs Hérin.
The three-day trip enabled the delegation to meet the mayor of Genazzano, and work out the initial details of an exchange that could take place in 2026.
Two towns with similarities
Le Lude and Genazzano are two towns that share certain similarities. With a population of around 4,000, both towns have a castle - the de Nicolaÿ castle in Lude, and the Colonna castle in Genazzano.
Both towns also share a passion for plants and flowers. "In Le Lude, we have the Gardeners' Festival every year in June, and in Genazzano, they have the Infiorata, a festival that dates back to 1 883. It celebrates springtime and covers the streets with paintings of flowers as the Sacred Heart procession passes by. It's a floral art that's been handed down from generation to generation," explains Marie-Anne Corbel.
It has already been decided that an Italian delegation will come to Le Lude in September 2026, for the Lude Renaissance. "It's even possible that we'll be able to welcome guests in June for the next Fête des Jardiniers, as they're very interested in flowers.
Music too?
Now that the Franco-Italian twinning project has been relaunched, we need goodwill to keep it going.
"We'd like to create musical exchanges. Pascal Renou in Le Lude agrees. In July 2025, I met members of a choir in Genazzano who had taken part in the last trip 10 years ago. They have fond memories of it," says Marie-Anne Corbel.
To enable the twinning to get organized on the Lude side, the municipality lent the reborn committee the Maison des projets du Lude, near the church.
It is for this reason that the committee is now wearing the colors of Italy.
Of course, anyone wishing to get involved in these new exchanges with Italy and Genazzano is welcome, "to bring in new blood and ideas. The more people we have, the easier it will be", explains Marie-Anne Corbel.
Concert on November 2
To raise funds for the relaunch of the twinning project, a concert of Italian (contemporary) music is being organized for Sunday November 2, 2025 at Ronsard at 3pm. The Convivendo trio will perform contemporary Italian music(Eros Ramazzotti, Toto Cutugno...).
Also in connection with the relaunch of the twinning committee, Marie-Anne Corbel, who hosts the Micro-Folie space at Le Lude cultural bar once a month, will devote her next session, on Friday November 7, 2025 at 3 pm, to Italian painting (1 h). And it's free.
Source: actu.fr/pays-de-la-loire/
