Cimitile Prize, Between Books and Paleochristian Grandeur

The Cimitile Prize celebrates its 18 anniversary. It has been presented in Regione’s executive board hall, and, as always, it will see a week of events from 8 to 15 June in the striking background of the Paleochristian basilicas. Emblematic is the choice of the best unpublished work and the best work dedicated to current events: in the first case, the silver bell tower, symbol of the prize, is awarded to Patrizia Socci for Dentro un vissuto tra mobbing e amore.

This year the prize gives a special award to Luigi Giampaolino, president of the Court of Auditors. ''A man from Campania who stood out for his work – these are the motivations of the Commission – and who lets us remember how keeping public finances in order we can find funds for culture”.

Giampaolino, the promoters of the festival let us know, will attend the final soirée next 15 June, for the award ceremony.

Five winners, one for each section: awarded for best unpublished work the book by Patrizia Socci Dentro un vissuto. Tra mobbing e amore (Guida); best published fiction Il mio nome è nessuno by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (Mondadori); best published topical work Se questi sono gli uomini by Riccardo Iacona (Chiarelettere); best published non-fiction Le sconfitte non contano by Marcello Sorgi (Rizzoli); best published work on archaeology and artistic culture of Paleovhristian Age and Early Middle Ages Battisteri oltre la Pianta by Olof Brandt (Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana); journalism award 'Antonio Ravel' to Alessandra Carli.

The Prize, therefore, coming of age, focus its attention mainly on highly-social issues and on the importance of the sense of belonging to the region.

For the Regional Minister of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, Pasquale Sommese, this is the occasion to underline the importance and the necessity to endorse Campania’s cultural heritage in order to attract tourism and create the conditions for new investments.

While the president of Fondazione Premio Cimitile, Felice Napolitano, denounces the fact that the social and economic crisis might hinder even more the extraordinary cultural, historical and artistic heritage of our country.