The Genoa Edition of the Columbus International Award was held at the magnificent and frescoed Salone di Rappresentanza of Palazzo Tursi, built between 1568 and 1579, which over the centuries passed under the ownership of noble Genoese families, was later purchased by the Savoys in 1820 and finally by the City of Genoa, which moved its institutional headquarters there.
A true international success that consecrates once again, after the editions at the Senate of the Republic in Rome, the one in Florida at the Istituto Marangoni Miami and the Brazilian one at the Rio Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro, the internationality of the prestigious award.
An award that aims to exalt and gratify all those who have distinguished themselves, each in their own field, for spreading and/or protecting Italian culture and Italian-ness, whether institutions, associations, companies or individuals.
The mission of the international prize is to exalt Made in Italy, speaking and making culture at 360° both through the protagonists i.e., the awardees of the individual editions, that is, the Italian Excellences that daily fill us with pride, and by giving space to speakers, true historical experts, who delve into the figure of Christopher Columbus, the political situation of his time bringing to light new important and sometimes revolutionary studies, theories and even uncomfortable truths, corroborated by years of research and in-depth study.
The Ligurian edition was honored with the Patronage of the European Commission, Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Navy, Liguria Region, Genoa Metropolitan City, Genoa City Council and Casa America Foundation.
After the opening COLUMBUS theme song, an extraordinary Massimiliano Cims charmed the guests in the packed hall by singing the Italian Anthem, thus immediately arousing strong emotions and pride.
Dr. Massimiliano Ferrara, founder and organizer of the Columbus International Award and President of ITALY Foundation, after greeting and thanking the important representatives of the Institutions present and the attendees, expressed gratitude for the City of Genoa given the prompt hospitality. In his speech, he extolled the Italian Excellencies that make us proud and that have made Italy great abroad as well, and as the Ambassador of Made in Italy, he stressed the importance of being there as Italians, being unique, and being protagonists in the world. He concluded by also dedicating praise to all the janitors who daily take care of us, in silence and with a spirit of service and sacrifice, that is, all the Forces of Law and Order whether by land, air or sea.
Then Senator Stefania Pucciarelli, of the Senate Defense Committee and former Undersecretary of State for Defense with responsibility for the Navy, took the floor and recalled the pride of being able to hold such positions and the importance of our roots, our culture and our values, hoping that events such as Columbus, which have the merit of advancing such issues, would be increasingly supported and encouraged. Finally, he dedicated a greeting to the Awardees because through their testimony at the international level they will still be able to bring awareness of Made in Italy.
The floor was then passed to the President of the Council of the Region of Liguria, representing Governor Bucci, Stefano Balleari, who extolled the figure of Christopher Columbus, the determination of the Ligurian people, and strongly criticized the tearing down of Columbus statues around the world as well as the so-called Cancel culture, which is offensive to Italians, extolling the figure of the Genoese who on the contrary had the merit, through the sea, of creating bonds and union.
Journalist Marilena Alescio and Dr. Ferrara, presenters of the international event, then gave the floor to Capt. Alessandro Petri of the Genoa Port Authority and Coast Guard, who spoke about the important control and prevention tasks also carried out at sea by the Corps represented.
The delegate of the Archbishop of Genoa, Father Mauro De Gioia, Coordinator of the Culture Office, read, in order to summarize the history and motivations, a passage taken from Las Casas, Historia, p. 146: “Our Lord knows well that I do not endure all these labors to accumulate treasures or to discover them for myself; since, as far as I am concerned, I know well that everything done in this lowly world is in vain, if it is not done in honor and service to God.”
The greetings part finally ended with Pasqualino Buonfiglio, President of Social Future Project Italia, who brought greetings from the large and important Italian community of San Francisco (California), engaged in the forefront of the protection and dissemination of Italian culture in the world and led proudly and actively by entrepreneur Florese Maurizio, who also hopes to see a dream come true, namely to host in the American port the world’s most beautiful school ship, the Amerigo Vespucci.
Greetings also from President Mario Menini of the Ligurians in the World Association.
Thus we moved on to the first part of the event that is, the lecture part thanks to two outstanding speakers, who were able to capture the attention of those present, intriguing them and bringing to light a whole range of information usually unknown to most and not found in school books.
The first speaker was Prof. Edoardo D’Angelo, Professor of Medieval Latin Philology, Sorbonne University St. Ursula in Naples, with the interesting and innovative lecture entitled “Alessandro Geraldini and Christopher Columbus: America as Destiny?”
The second speaker, journalist, writer and poet Dr. Ruggero Marino, on the other hand, delighted the audience with his studies and new truths while also telling us about the Pope-Colombo connection: “Without the Genoese pope, America would not have been discovered.”
Having also concluded the first part with a musical intermission, again by the very talented singer Massimiliano Cims, who provided emotions thanks to Lucio Dalla’s “Caruso,” we officially moved on to the second part, the awards ceremony.
The media contribution of this seventh edition was very important, thanks to the support of Gold TV Gruppo Netweek: during the ceremony live links with the program “Aria Pulita” aired on the generalist channel IL61 and on all broadcasters of the Netweek circuit. The Netweek circuit with 14 regional TV stations is positioned as the first local TV network in Italy, in terms of editorial capillarity and impact on the public. These channels are strongly rooted in the territories: in Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy and Liguria with Telecity, in Emilia Romagna with ETV Rete 7, in Tuscany with ITALIA 7, in Umbria with ETV Umbria , in Marche with ETV Marche and ETV +, in Lazio with Gold TV, Lazio TV and T9, in Sardinia with Odeon.
Also nourished was the parterre of guests in the room, with important figures such as Dr. Giancarlo Pirocca of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Vice Prefect Dr. Paolo Ceccarelli and Dr. Davide Balbi Director of the Anticrimine Division of the Genoa Police Headquarters.
The event was realized in collaboration with AdviceTourism – the First International Commissionless Tourism Portal, LutinX, Bottega Branca and Genesis Interiors and thanks to FERRARA – events & communication, UNITED International Media Partners and SFP – Social Future Project Italia.
Partners of this VII edition were NIAF – The National Italian American Foundation, NIABA – National Italian American Bar Association, the Association of Italian American Lawyers, DOVE – Where I Live Abroad, European and South American Diplomacy Institute, DIVE – Italian Women Living Abroad Los Angeles, Little Studio, Hoboken Italian Festival and Filitalia International.
Also for this edition, as many as 29 International Media Partners, all Italian-speaking, did not want to miss their contribution to this important event linked to culture, excellence and Made in Italy. Everything is made possible thanks also to the active help of UNITED International Media Partners, International Communication and Information Channel.
As is now tradition, the names of the awardees were revealed only at the time of the individual award ceremony, and as is customary, guests and guests also appreciated the attention to detail and well-coordinated management. There was no shortage of surprises and excitement.
Here we are then with the Awardees of this 7th edition:
La Regione Liguria è stata la prima in ordine temporale a ricevere il premio con la seguente motivazione: Per aver posto particolare attenzione alla diffusione della cultura italiana, partendo dalle origini e dalle tradizioni, consapevole che le radici sono la naturale base culturale di un popolo. Premio consegnato dal Patron dell’evento Massimiliano Ferrara nelle mani del Presidente del Consiglio della Regione Liguria, in rappresentanza del Governatore Bucci, Stefano Balleari.
Sezione Excellence per il Comune di Genova con la seguente motivazione: Per aver dato i natali a Cristoforo Colombo e contribuito a diffondere con orgoglio la cultura e le radici italiane. Il riconoscimento internazionale è stato ritirato dallo storico dell’arte e divulgatore scientifico Giacomo Montanari, Assessore alla Cultura del Comune di Genova, che ha espresso soddisfazione e esaltato sia la figura di Cristoforo Colombo che dei genovesi ovunque residenti. Ospite premiante il Prof. Edoardo D’Angelo che ha pure consegnato una targa da parte del Sindaco di Amelia Avio Proietti Scorsoni, auspicando, insieme al Dott. Ferrara, un gemellaggio tra le due città con la seguente motivazione: Accomunati dalla storia nel nome di Cristoforo Colombo e di Alessandro Geraldini.
Ancora Sezione Excellence per la Marina Militare: “Ha solcato i mari di tutto il mondo portando l’orgoglio e l’eccellenza italiana nei maggiori porti, issando e sventolando con fierezza il Tricolore”, questa la motivazione. A ritirare il premio il Comandante dell’Amerigo Vespucci, il Capitano di Vascello Nicasio Falica, che si è detto onorato di poter ricevere un’importante premio internazionale proprio a Genova, città molto legata alla Vespucci che ha visto sia la partenza sia il ritorno della Nave Scuola della Marina Militare dal Tour Mondiale 2023-2025. A consegnare il premio il Dott. Massimiliano Ferrara, Dott. Gianfranco Pirocca della Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, il Capitano di Vascello Alessandro Petri della Capitaneria di Porto e della Guardia Costiera di Genova e il Presidente Pasqualino Buonfiglio.
Per la Sezione Media Operator il premio internazionale è stato assegnato alla più grande realtà televisiva regionale italiana, fiore all’occhiello delle emittenti del Bel Paese: Gold TV Gruppo Netweek. “Una grande realtà che ha saputo affermarsi con determinazione nel panorama televisivo italiano, anche grazie a un ragazzo che sognava la televisione. Il grande sogno di un visionario che ha osato spingersi oltre per navigare nell’etere”. A ritirare il premio direttamente il Presidente di questo prestigioso e importante gruppo televisivo Gianfranco Sciscione, che ha raccontato degli aneddoti legati all’inizio della sua attività imprenditoriale nel campo della televisione, quando nulla era regolato e quando svolgere questa attività poteva comportare anche ricadute illegali e non in linea con le disposizione di legge vigenti. Il premio, molto apprezzato, è stato consegnato con orgoglio direttamente dal Presidente di Fondazione ITALY.
Introdotti con una breve scenetta comica e con un Cristoforo Colombo che ha ripreso vita in sala diffondendo ilarità tra i presenti, il premio Columbus per la Sezione Community Service, quella riservata a coloro che si prendono cura degli altri, è stato assegnato alla Compagnia Goliardica Mario Baistrocchi, fondata nel lontano 1913 e che tutt’ora grazie ai fondi raccolti in occasione degli spettacoli aiuta le realtà e/o le persone più bisognose presenti nel territorio. “Con la loro ilarità dispensano momenti di spensieratezza che si traducono poi in concreti progetti di aiuto e speranza per i più bisognosi”. A ritirare il premio il Presidente Ubaldo Emilio Borchi, insieme a una nutrita rappresentanza della Compagnia. Il premio è stato consegnato dalla Dott.ssa Marta Brusoni, Responsabile dell’Agenzia Intelligenza Artificiale – Progetto RAISE della Regione Liguria e ex Assessore del Comune di Genova.
Altro momento molto importante sempre per la Sezione Excellence è quello che ha visto protagonista il Cav. Giuseppe Prete, Presidente dell’ONG Word Organization of Ambassadors (WOA-OME): Una vera e propria missione di vita a livello internazionale per la diffusione e la tutela dei Valori Universali. Premiato anch’egli direttamente dal Dott. Ferrara, ha ricevuto pure una targa ricordo a firma Regione Liguria – Presidente Marco Bucci.
Premio per il Centro Studi Colombiano con la seguente motivazione: “Con gli studi e le relative attività culturali ha portato un concreto contributo nella diffusione del mondo colombiano”. Il premio non poteva che essere consegnato da un vero e grande studioso come il Dott. Ruggero Marino.
Infine hanno chiuso la kermesse internazionale due grandi imprenditori, Giuseppe Lochis e Mauro Lochis, che, dotati di sapiente e fine mentalità di amministratori, hanno trasformato con orgoglio una piccola realtà familiare in un’eccellente realtà internazionale proprio come recita la motivazione del premio assegnato alla loro azienda, la General Fruit: da piccola realtà a importante ed eccellente azienda italiana internazionale che opera puntando su qualità, innovazione ma nel rispetto della tradizione, orgogliosa delle proprie radici e della conduzione familiare. Il premio è stato consegnato dal Presidente di Casa Italia Miami, l’imprenditore Paolo Mangia, giunto per l’occasione da Miami, Florida. Casa Italia Miami è un’attiva e numerosa associazione di italiani che opera sul territorio con moltissime iniziative e che ha saputo distinguersi nel panorama di coloro che promuovono e tutelano la cultura e le radici italiane in Florida. Casa Italia Miami è il Partner del Columbus International Award a Miami la cui prossima edizione, dopo quella del 2024, avrà luogo il 23 ottobre 2025.
Before the formal photos with all the Awardees, a wonderful rendition of ‘O sole mio by Massimiliano Cims concluded the event.
The beautiful opening theme song again this year featured the Dammen Quartet, the inimitable sound of an all-female string quartet consisting of Ianina Iancovenco – first violin, Elisabetta Ligresti – second violin/cajon, Alexandra Butnaru – viola, and Sunah Choi – cello.
Video shooting by Fabio Chiavassa and assistant Marco Zambetta. All graphics are by Joe Kage with theme song by Andrea Castello. Room help by Aldo Ponttarelli.
The awards, beautiful handcrafted ceramic plates portraying the Columbus International Award logo and personalized for each awardee and section, were made by Bottega Branca – Creazioni in Ceramica, thanks to the mastery of Agostino Branca, and are an expression of Italian excellence and Made in Italy.
The Columbus International Award was an opportunity to talk about Italy, about excellence, about Made in Italy, about roots, traditions and values, about Italian culture at 360°, about expatriates, about the uniqueness of the Bel Paese, about the undisputed Italian talent and the beauty that distinguishes us in the world, even more aware that only TOGETHER we are stronger!
The next dates will be in the United States of America, in New York on October 14 and in Miami on October 23.
The article Columbus International Award: the award in the Navigator’s hometown comes from TheNewyorker.
