THEME: VISION AND COURAGE
THE AWARD GOES TO:
CIVILTA’ VENETA: Roberto Battiston, Jane da Mosto and Paolo Fazioli
CIVILTA’ DEL VINO: Attilio Scienza
GROSSO D’ORO VENEZIANO: Elena Cattaneo
SATURDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2021 EVENT STREAMED LIVE FROM PIEVE DI SAN GIORGIO, VALPOLICELLA
Winners announced for the 2021 40th Masi Prize. They are physician Roberto Battiston, environmental researcher Jane da Mosto and musician and entrepreneur Paolo Fazioli for the Masi Civiltà Veneta prize.
The professor and populariser Attilio Scienza has been awarded the Masi International Civiltà del Vino prize, and to the life-long senator and internationally-famous biologist, Elena Cattaneo, the Grosso d’Oro Veneziano.
A capacity to look beyond the present, imagining new solutions to contemporary problems and the bold embarking on a route not yet travelled are the characteristics shared by this edition's prize-winners. To mark the fortieth anniversary of the Prize, marked by the contingency that is the Covid-19 pandemic, the Masi Foundation has in fact chosen to offer a message of renewal and hope, identifying those who best interpreted the duo “Vision and Courage”. It is a choice that relaunches the very purpose of the Prize, decided since the first edition back in 1981: to acknowledge talent linked to the historical area of Triveneto, in the various fields of human activity, to indicate them as valuable points of reference in the civil, cultural and economic growth of our territory and country. In this respect, the choice to return, for the award ceremony, to the place where it all began, the evocative Longobard-Romanesque parish of San Giorgio, Valpolicella, is also significant.
MASI CIVILTA’ VENETA PRIZE
An award for those born and bred in Veneto, whether by family or adoption, who have stood out in the fields of literature, art, journalism, science, entertainment and economy, and whose work has helped promote and enhance the capacity of the people of Veneto in the broadest fields of human activity, driving fundamental values for this land.
Roberto Battiston
“experimental physicist, former Chairman of the Italian Space Agency and one of the most important experts in cosmic rays. Since Covid first started, he has been keeping a close eye on progress made, also writing a book entitled “La matematica del virus. I numeri per capire e sconfiggere la pandemia” (The mathematics of the virus. The numbers to understand and defeat the pandemic)”.
Jane da Mosto
“scientist and environmentalist, involved in the protection of Venice and its territory, her research ranges from environmental assessment to climate change and strengthening the ties between science and sustainable policy”.
Paolo Fazioli
“musician and entrepreneur, he founded the first ever Italian company producing concert grand pianos of great artisan and technological value, starring on some of the world’s most prestigious musical scenes”.
MASI INTERNATIONAL CIVILTA’ DEL VINO PRIZE
Dedicated to the great world of wine-making, rewarding those who have been most representative, making an international contribution to exalting the ancient culture of vines and wine.
Attilio Scienza
“university lecturer and populariser, he is one of the greatest scholars of the physiology of vines and the interaction of vines with the territory. His genetic studies on autochthonous and international varieties are essential. He has been involved in the research into vines able to withstand climate change and pathogen agents for decades. He is a great support of cisgenesis in vine-growing”.
MASI INTERNATIONAL GROSSO D’ORO VENEZIANO PRIZE
Reserved to those who have helped spread a message of culture across the globe, generating that understanding amongst populations that develops in the form of solidarity, civil progress and peace.
Elena Cattaneo
“an internationally-famous biologist and professor of pharmacology at the University of Milan, where she manages the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory. Her scientific works have earned her the title of life-long senator of the Republic of Italy. Her constant commitment in both Italy and abroad to the defence of scientific research, rationality and transparency in communication between science and civil society for progress in human coexistence, is praiseworthy”.
The award ceremony will be streamed live from the Parish Church of San Giorgio, Valpolicella on Saturday 23 October at 17.30
on the Facebook page @MasiWines in Italian
on the Instagram page @MasiWines in English.
The event will be carried out in compliance with the instructions for containing Covid-19 and will be shown entirely by local television broadcasters.
