History

The Association dates back to 2001 when, based on a protocol signed by Spanish, Portuguese and Italian ports and cities, the germinal core of the institution was created in Lisbon under the name “RETE 2001″.

RETE, an Italian expression translated as “network” in English, “red” in Spanish and “rede” in Portuguese, was the term that, alongside the phrase “for cooperation between ports and cities”, was designated by the instigators of the new organisation.

The work carried out at this early stage, the professional-scientific approach to port-city relations and the successful uptake of members, led to the creation of the Association, which was formally founded in Venice in April 2004.

In its mission to become an international network of port cities and ports, RETE has been contributing to our understanding of the phenomena that arise in port cities through scientific wok focussing on three priority fields of activity: education, research and dissemination.