ROMSEY now has its own small slice of Italy.

The town, which is twinned to Treviglio, has had an area of gardens named after it.

A group of 22 members from Romsey Twinning spent the bank holiday weekend in Treviglio, as gusts of the Amici di Romsey.

The town's mayor, Signor Imeri, unveiled a new landscaped area in front of the town's sports centre, which has been named Giardini Romsey, which translates as Romsey Gardens.

Revealing a commemorative sign to mark the gardens, Signor Imeri said: "It gives me great pride to be dedicating the gardens to the remarkable friendship that links Treviglio and Romsey."

Over the course of the weekend, the Romsey twinners also enjoyed a trip to Cremona, and visits to two former Visconti castles on the Fosso Bergamasco, the defensive line which once formed the border between the Duchy of Milan and the Venetian Republic.

Roland Matthews, chairman of Romsey Twinning, said: "We are delighted and honoured that a part of the Treviglio townscape has been named after Romsey.

"I very much hope that we will be able to follow suit and return the compliment here in Romsey, and I shall be pursuing this in the coming months with the relevant agencies and interested parties.

"In the meantime I have agreed with the mayor of Treviglio that Romsey Twinning will sponsor a new feature in their Giardini which we look forward to inaugurating on a future visit."