A Sister Cities ceremony between Dana Point, California, and Sorrento was held last June 10 in the beautiful town in Campania, Italy. Signing the agreement were Mayors Jamey M. Federico and Massimo Coppola, formalizing a relationship initiated in 2022 and followed in the following months by a mutual exchange of visits and meetings, to develop a calendar of events and initiatives.

Promotion of sustainable tourism, study and enhancement of historical, cultural and artistic heritage, enhancement of the environment and the sea resource, and exchanges between students and school communities are the areas at the center of the twinning activity.

The climate, the geographical location and the characteristic of both being tourist destinations and venues of important events, unite Dana Point and Sorrento. It was precisely the hotels in the seaside resort town of Campania that inspired one of the founders of the California town to plan the construction of a luxurious hotel on the ocean-facing coast in the 1920s.

As early as June 2, a student representation from Dana Hills High School, accompanied by Dana Point City Office of Education Director Allison Peterson, were guests of Sorrento families as part of an educational exchange project that took place with the collaboration of the Sorrento Rotary Club and the Dana Point Rotary Club.

This is the first twinning signed by Dana Point. For the future, it will also be important to strengthen relations under the commercial profile, highlighting the typical features of our communities, especially crafts and gastronomy. Without forgetting the so-called return tourism, favored by the presence in Dana Point of a large community of Italian origin, consisting of about two hundred people

With its beaches enlivened by surfers and waters populated by whales and dolphins, art galleries and the many clubs that characterize it, Dana Point is located in Orange County of the State of California and has about 33 thousand inhabitants. Each year it is the scene of major festivals and festivals that attract visitors from across the United States and abroad.