Prato-Ebensee

About us

The Prato-Ebensee twinning association was founded in 1997 on the initiative of the Prato Municipality and the Pratese section of ANED (National Association of Former Deportees). It is born of the need of some ex deported people, including Roberto Castellani and Dorval Vannini, to seek a human relationship with the inhabitants of Ebensee, the Austrian town where they were deported very young during the Second World War and where they hardly found death.

Since its founding, the Association has set itself the goal of promoting the memory of II World War events through meetings, debates and visits in the former concentration camps, so that the new generations are growing aware and aware of this sad period of history. It is also a way of trying to curb the neo-Nazi and xenophobic movements that, due to recent events, are taking more and more foot in Europe, where instead trampling on human rights must only be a memory of the past. Read more

Speech from Matteo Biffoni, Mayor of the Municipality of Prato

Twinning between European Municipalities is an important opportunity to share experiences and knowledge different cultures, a recognition of shared values ​​and a story that often intertwines between different countries. The twinning of peace between Prato and Ebensee is an important example of this, and much more, is a pact of significant friendship!

As mayor of Prato Municipality, I am proud to celebrate the end of September together with the thirtieth anniversary of this extraordinary union between Prato and Ebensee communities. At the end of the 1980s, our city was the first in Europe to make a covenant of this importance, born of the most dramatic pages of our history but with confidence in a peaceful and freedom Europe. Twinning Prato / Ebensee is based on one of the greatest tragedies of the Twentieth Century: the reality of Nazi concentration and extermination camps, a tragedy that caused a deep wound in our civilization, which still continues today. Read more