The mayors of Rome and Jerusalem on Monday renamed a small square near Jerusalem's Italian synagogue 'Piazza Roma'.
''May this ceremony be the start of a long path of friendship and collaboration,'' said Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno.
The mayor, who was accompanied by Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni and the head of Rome's Jewish community, Riccardo Pacifici, said Rome and Jerusalem were ''two cities unique in the world for their history and spirituality''.
He voiced the hope that ''this friendship will be an example for all the peoples of the Mediterranean''.
Standing alongside Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Alemanno announced that a square entitled Piazza Jerusalem will shortly be unveiled in the Rome Ghetto.
The link between the two cities sends ''a great message of tolerance,'' Alemanno said.
