The 42nd edition of the Gambrinus Mazzotti Literary Prize, promoted by the Giuseppe Mazzotti Literary Prize Association, with the direct participation of the Veneto Region and the support of the main partner Intesa Sanpaolo and the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso -Belluno|Dolomiti, and dedicated to Giuseppe Mazzotti, an extraordinary and eclectic intellectual from Treviso, has reached its most eagerly awaited stage: the announcement of the winners. The Jury, composed of scholars, experts and writers, has selected a winner for each of the three competition sections:
– For “Mountaineering: Feats, Historical Events, Biographies, and Guides,” the winner is “Se non dovessi tornare” (Mondadori, 2024) by Enrico Camanni, writer, mountaineer, and editor of the magazines “Alp” and “L’Alpe.”
– For “Ecology and Landscape,” the winning work is “Parchi naturali. Storia delle aree protette in Italia” (Il Mulino, 2023) by Luigi Piccioni, a historian from L’Aquila.
– For “Traditional Craftsmanship,” the award goes to “Galileo Chini. Un artista della ceramica tra la Toscana e l’Europa” (Edizioni Polistampa, 2023) by Daniele Galleni, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official assigned to the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing.
Each winner receives a prize of €2,000. The three works were chosen from a selection of 132 books from 72 publishers.
Additionally, the Jury awarded the Special Prize “Ulderico Bernardi” to “Amazzonia. Una vita nel cuore della foresta”(Editori Laterza, 2023) by Roman biologist Emanuela Evangelista, and the Honoris Causa Prize, to be presented to evolutionary philosopher Telmo Pievani during the award ceremony at the Treviso-Belluno|Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, November 16.
Angelo Squizzato, President of the Giuseppe Mazzotti Literary Prize Association, emphasized – Once again, the Prize shines a spotlight, thanks to the Jury’s careful selection, on works capable of looking toward the future, offering models to inspire more sustainable paths. This is one of the key goals we aim to pursue with renewed determination: to make the Prize a platform for forward-looking ideas and visions capable of suggesting green, replicable models.
Mario Pozza, President of the Treviso-Belluno|Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce, added – The Chamber firmly believes in and supports the Gambrinus Mazzotti Literary Prize because, inspired by great authors, we recognize the positive power and value of humanity. Sharing thoughts and words reminds us to look at what surrounds us. Every entrepreneur and collaborator focused on innovation becomes better when they incorporate an inspired and environmentally respectful vision in their projects, contributing to a meaningful and sustainable future for young people.
Francesca Nieddu, Regional Director for Veneto East and Friuli – Venezia Giulia at Intesa Sanpaolo, stated – As a bank, we are also an institution that supports the economic, cultural, and social development of the region. We are pleased to support the Gambrinus Mazzotti Literary Prize because we share its mission: to promote the history, traditions, and natural heritage of our regions, with careful attention to environmental and community sustainability.
The Winners. Three books take the podium that recount the beauty of Italy through the eyes of the world: those of the Californian mountaineer Gary Hemming, who came to the Alps to climb Mont Blanc, the protagonist of Camanni’s volume; those of the founders of the first American reserves that inspired the management of Italian protected areas, giving rise to a long history of conservation, battles, disappointments, restarts, profound cultural and political changes, in Piccioni’s work; and finally those of Europe, addressed to the skill of Galileo Chini, one of the most important protagonists of the rich season of Italian decorative arts from the end of the 19th century to the 1930s, a leading artist and innovator also in foreign circles, whose history Galleni reconstructs
Three books investigating three ‘beginnings’, which tell of seeds that have germinated in the present and are to be strengthened in the future: Gary Hemming’s climbing embodies an ecological philosophy of climbing, revolutionary and still very topical; the battles for the creation and protection of natural parks have now been joined by new aims, such as the promotion of scientific research, the stimulation and support of a broad but respectful tourist use, environmental education and, more recently, the development of local communities in a sustainable manner; finally, Cini has shown himself capable of uniting new modernist instances with his own solid Tuscan roots in a highly personal and fascinating blend.
Finally, the theme of fragility emerges, at once criticality and value: it is embodied by Gary Hemming, an indispensable figure in the history of modern climbing, but also and above all the ‘zeitgeist’ of the ‘68 fire and fragile friend; it is found in the desire to rescue portions of the natural environment from the degradation caused by man’s works, a noble yet often opposed ambition; and it permeates the works of Galileo Chini, who chooses to give form to his art by using ceramics and glass
The Jury also pointed out the works ‘Stalin’s Mountaineers’ by Cédric Gras, Corbaccio Publisher (section ‘Alpinism’), ‘Sottocorteccia. Un viaggio nei boschi che cambiano’ by Pietro Lacasella and Luigi Torreggiani, People Editrice, and “Paesaggio civile” by Serenella Iovino, Il Saggiatore (section “Ecology and landscape”), “Antichi mestieri del Veneto” by Francesco Jori with photos by Stefano Scapin, Editoriale Programma (section “Artigianato di tradizione”).
Special Award. Beauty and fragility are also the common thread in the book that received the ‘Ulderico Bernardi’ Special Jury Prize: ‘Amazonia. A life in the heart of the forest’ (Editori Laterza 2023) by Emanuela Evangelista, a biologist and activist who has been living for more than ten years in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, specifically in the village of Xixuaú, a handful of stilt houses ignored by official maps.Emanuela Evangelista is a “Kuki Gallmann” of the Amazon, who landed in South America in 2000 for the sake of research, and in particular to conduct research on the endangered giant otters. Gradually, she realised that the protection of an endangered species cannot be separated from the protection of everything that revolves around it, starting with the forest and all its inhabitants, both animal and plant, and the focus on conservation broadened: in 2004, she founded the Associazione Amazonia Onlus, a Milan-based organisation that aims to protect the forest, its rivers and its inhabitants in the long term and that, to date, has contributed to the protection of 600,000 hectares of land. In 2020, it was awarded by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Matterella, with the title of Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for its “constant commitment, in the international arena, to environmental protection, the protection of indigenous peoples and the fight against deforestation”
The Jury’s choice – motivated by Adriana Misura Bernardi and Arrigo Bernardi, wife and son of Ulderico Bernardi, former president of the Gambrinus Mazzotti Literary Prize – rewardsthe prestigious work of Emanuela Evangelista, who with her stubborn investigation into the Amazon rainforest brings us back to Ulderico’s long research work, from dusty archives to the disparate destinations where our people have sought emancipation throughout the world. Always in search of traces of the persistence of culture through the changes that history necessarily imposes on humanity and with it on the planet we inhabit. A study that hands over to the new generations the witness of a thought refined through experience and intelligence, necessary to build the future
Honoris Causa Prize. The Honoris Causa Prize is awarded to a scholar from Bepi Mazzotti’s homeland, the evolutionist philosopher Telmo Pievani, who holds the first Italian chair of Philosophy of Biological Sciences at the University of Padua.
Pievani applies the thought of cathedrals to the environment, a beautiful way of talking about foresight in the United States: those who built cathedrals when they laid the first stone knew very well that they would not see the finished cathedral, perhaps their grandchildren would see it built, but they did make cathedrals. Today we must understand that the environmental crisis, the biodiversity crisis, and climate change are our cathedrals, and we must be so generous as to lay the foundation stone now so that our children, our grandchildren, can see the finished cathedral.
Award Ceremony. The award ceremony will be held in Treviso on Saturday, November 16 at 4:00 p.m., in the Borsa Hall of the Treviso-Belluno|Dolomiti Chamber of Commerce. During the ceremony, the coveted ‘La Voce dei Lettori’ Super Prize worth three thousand euros will also be awarded, determined by the preference vote of the Readers’ Council (40 representatives from the worlds of culture, associations, communication, schools and universities), called upon live to choose a work from among the three already selected by the Jury.
Founder: Municipality of San Polo di Piave, Italian Touring Club, Gambrinus
Institutional Partner: Veneto Region, Italian Alpine Club, Treviso-Belluno Chamber of Commerce, Province of Treviso
Main Partner: Intesa Sanpaolo SPA
Premium Partners: “Americo and Vittoria Giol” Foundation, Confartigianato del Veneto, Zignago Vetro, Valcucine, Mediaprofili, Latteria Soligo
Supporters: Confindustria Veneto Est, Raboso Brotherhood, Venice Wines Consortium, Eclisse, Unifarco, Coldiretti, Rauscedo Cooperative Nurseries
Collaborators: Giuseppe Mazzotti Foundation, Giovanni Angelini Foundation, Bioforest, Treviso Comic Book Festival, “Giuseppe Mazzotti” State Technical Institute for Tourism, “J. Sansovino” State Technical Institute, Lepido Rocco Foundation
