The Origin of Cupertino’s Name  

Cupertino and Copertino, Lecce, Italy, enjoy a special kinship that goes back to 1776. That’s when a Spanish cartographer travelling through California’s Santa Clara Valley named a local stream Arroyo San José de Cupertino, in honor of Saint Joseph of Copertino.

Naturally, the Italian town that inspired our name informally became our first sister city in 1963 when then Cupertino Mayor John Benetti visited the Italian town during the commemoration of the 300^th anniversary of Saint Joseph’s death. The relationship grew in 2013 when then Vice Mayor Gilbert Wong visited the town to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the death of Saint Joseph, as well as the 50th anniversary of our sister city relationship.

Student Exchange Program
An annual student exchange program now is underway. In 2016, a group of six eighth-grade students from St. Joseph of Cupertino School spent a week with host families in Copertino. Students from Copertino will visit Cupertino in 2017, and a group of Cupertino students again will go to Copertino in 2018.  

The Cupertino-Copertino Sister City Association coordinates the student exchange program and other activities.

More Info
Cupertino Copertino Sister Cities Association  on Facebook.