Icardi Luigi Gilles (center in black), head of the Health Department in Italy's Piedmont Region, visits Wenzhou on Aug 24. [Photo/66wz.com]

Icardi Luigi Gilles, head of the Health Department in Italy's Piedmont Region, visited Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province on Aug 24 to express his gratitude for the good deeds of local people three years ago.

In early 2020 the Italian region was suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and short on medical supplies. Learning about the situation online, a number of Wenzhou residents donated protective goggles, masks, and disposable medical gloves to the European country.

Gilles still remembers the dire situation they were in at that time, almost running out of supplies. "Back then, our entire region had only a little over 1,000 masks left. Even the doctors in the intensive care unit were unable to continue working," he said. The supplies sent from Wenzhou, like a timely snowfall, alleviated their pressing concerns.

"On behalf of the 4.3 million people of Piedmont, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Wenzhou for their contributions during the pandemic in 2020!" Gilles handed a certificate of appreciation to the representative of Wenzhou, symbolizing the deep and lasting friendship between the two regions.

"It feels quite miraculous. A single offering of help three years ago has led to such sincere gratitude today," The representative said. " I hope that the friendship between Wenzhou and Piedmont remains strong and that we can have more cultural and business exchanges in the future."