Since 2015, Alessandro Ghinelli has led Arezzo, a city of 100,000 in the heart of Tuscany, with a philosophy that connects culture, peace and European collaboration into a single vision of what a city can be. As his mandate draws to a close, he reflects on eleven years of work that has taken Arezzo far beyond its walls. A city that opens its walls Arezzo is a place of deep history and cultural significance, shaped by Etruscan, Roman and Renaissance civilisations. It is also the birthplace of Guido d’Arezzo, the medieval monk who invented musical notation. “Music is an international, worldwide language,” says Alessandro. “You give a written part of music to a person in China and in the United States, and they play the same music. That is very important and it started here in Arezzo.” Alessandro arrived at the mayor’s office in 2015 with a background in engineering and academia and a practical mindset. For him, culture is heritage to be preserved and a vehicle for connection. Culture has to be the path through which you are able to make connections. “Culture has to be the path through which you are able to make connections,” he says. “History, heritage, arts, music, these are things other cities recognise and respond to.” Alongside culture, two convictions have defined his time in office: that cities must make their voices heard on the global stage, and the importance of solidarity between cities. Eleven years on, Arezzo is still evolving. What Alessandro leaves behind is a city that has learned the value of looking beyond its own walls. “A second economic engine” When Alessandro took office in 2015, Arezzo was facing an economic crisis. The city’s most important local bank had just collapsed, leaving the already struggling manufacturing sector without a key financial