Watch the video of the Award Ceremony
Five new signatures embellish the historic Amarone barrel of the Premio Masi, now in its 38th edition when the Masi Foundation honours people and institutions committed to promoting the founding values of society and civil living.
To Roberto Citran, Piero Luxardo and Nando Pagnoncelli the Civiltà Veneta Prize, to the Korean Jeannie Cho Lee the International Civiltà del Vino Prize and to the Frenchman Alain Finkielkraut, the International Grosso D’Oro Veneziano Prize.
The themes that emerged during the ceremony are of great relevance and interest. President Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti comments on them as follows:
“Firmly rooted in the heritage of values and culture of the Venetian regions and a look towards the horizon, to identify new paths and goals: this is the combination that inspires us for this edition. In fact, this year's winners all have in common the ability to interpret society. Each of them knows, studies, feels the reality and understands trends and moods before they are clear to the ordinary man in the street. Distinguished personalities who can show us the way”.
Once again, as is traditional, the Masi Prize spans the Veneto territorial dimension with an international projection, as underlined by Sandro Boscaini, vice president of the Masi Foundation and president of Masi, creator of the Prize:
“The culture of a Venetian region that has the geographical extension of the civilisation of the Serenissima gets rewarded: from the Dalmatian coasts to the Orobica Marches. The choice of the Korean Jeannie Cho Lee underlines the growing space of women in the sector and her role as ambassador in a continent with promising beginnings in the exploration of the world of wine. With Finkielkraut, the defender of critical reason against all forms of obscurantism and regression are rewarded”.
The winners of the 2019 edition emotionally welcomed the prestigious award.
Roberto Citran, from Padua, a highly versatile actor known in Italy and abroad for his rich film career, commented: “When they told me that I had won it was a moment of great pride. Many of my colleagues and actor friends have received it: from Battiston, to Paolini and Balasso, to name a few. It made me think I had left a mark”.
Piero Luxardo, also from Padua, president of the company of the same name of traditional distillates and professor of literature at the University of Padua said: “I am grateful to the Masi company for having identified in me a person to be rewarded, as an exponent of an entrepreneurial history and family that is strongly representative for Veneto”.
Nando Pagnoncelli, from Bergamo, one of the most authoritative and influential pollsters, commented: “Receiving a prize from the Masi Foundation for Venetian Culture has made me very proud and led me to think more about the traits that unite Bergamo and the Veneto territory”.
Jeannie Cho Lee - Civiltà del Vino - the first Asian to achieve the coveted title of Master of Wine, one of the most influential critics, journalists and wine consultants on an international level, welcomed the news: “I am very excited to receive this Award and honoured that such prestigious recognition has been reserved for me. I’m gaining energy to do more for Italian wines and Amarone, because I feel that there is still a lot to share, to enjoy and for us Asians to discover. The Amarone is truly a jewel to reveal”.
Alain Finkielkraut - Grosso D’Oro Veneziano - one of the greatest contemporary French philosophers and intellectuals, added: “I’m very happy to receive this award. I don't know if I deserve it! Personally, I can say that I did my best to make sense of my work in order to face reality as it is and to remain lucid without ever being intimidated by the ‘politically correct’. I firmly believe that it is only through the exercise of lucidity that it is possible to maintain a permanent peace between European countries”.
