An evening to celebrate culture, literature, and non-fiction: the story of the world through different perspectives and styles, with a special focus on salvific narratives, which are able to subvert personal and collective pain, or which can “restructure” our way of perceiving enormous and open questions, such as the Southern Question. The 25th edition of the City of Amantea Literary Awardorganized by the Rotary Club of Amantea. This year the Commission, chaired by Olinda Suriano, included among its members the members Salvatore Basso, Raffaele Antonio Di Leo, Alessandro Morelli, Luigi Del Bianco, Fortunata Besaldo, Andrea Cicero, Rosaria Mazza. President of the Scientific Jury Salvatore Sciandra.
The opening of the evening was dedicated to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Award, with this name, established by the Acpa association chaired by Prof. Francesco Besaldo and which included Prof. Salvatore Sciandra among its members. The first edition took place right in the churchyard of the Convent of San Bernardino on 10 September 1989. The 25 years of the Award have gone down in history thanks to the presence of the Post Team, with Dr. Maria Elena Cribari, philatelic representative of Cosenza, who issued a postmark dedicated to the anniversary in which three commemorative stamps were included. One dedicated to Andrea Camilleri, the famous author of Inspector Montalbano; one to Leonida Repaci, founder of the Viareggio Award; one celebrating the 100 years of Rotary International for the values of solidarity, service and friendship that this organization has spread throughout the world for an entire century.
The evening’s highlights were the announcements of the winners. The first prize was awarded to Prof. Giuseppe Caridi – Professor of Modern History at the University of Messina and President of the Deputation of National History for Calabria – for the book “Ferrante Re di Napoli. Quando il potere era al Sud” (Rubbettino). Not only a historical essay of erudite and exquisite workmanship, already awarded several times, but of capital importance for the particular way of looking at, and re-establishing, the narrative of the South, in the light of a correct historical perspective: a theme very dear to the Author. In the section dedicated to young writers, the joint winners were Sarah Ciafardoni with «La ragazza che scrive» (Mondadori), centered on the character of the adolescent Lucia called “Luce”, with her hidden pain and the transformative power of writing, and Eleonora E. Spezzano for «Hans Mayer e la bambina ebrea» (Bonfirraro), which stages one of the darkest and most gloomy periods of the twentieth century, and the power of love that can illuminate the darkness.
In addition, special certificates were awarded to Francesca Ruggiero, Giuliano Guido, Nicola Bruno, Camminando Amantea, Claudio Metallo and Francesca Mercurio for their works of great literary value. Finally, Vincenzo Napolillo and Loredana Farina were awarded Lifetime Achievement for their valuable contribution to the world of literature.
The evening was enriched by Mantia Brass, a brass quintet with maestro Marco Bardo on horn, Stefano Scanga and Tommaso Gerbasi on trumpets, Giovanni Collaro on trombone, Luigi Spina on tuba and Luca Bennardo on percussion. The quintet gave unforgettable emotions to an enthusiastic audience, gathered to celebrate culture, literature and excellence. An unforgettable evening that paid homage to the beauty of words and the power of creativity, confirming the liveliness and importance of the Città di Amantea Literary Award in the national cultural panorama.
An event that shone thanks to the presence of illustrious personalities and the great participation of the public. The evening was made even more special by the presence of the Governor of District 2102 Maria Pia Porcino, the Club Presidents, the Mayor of Amantea Vincenzo Pellegrino, the Councilor for Culture Caterina Policicchio and the Attorney of the Republic of Paola, Dr. Ernesto Sassano.
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