Wine: the winners of the Masi Civiltà Veneta Prize 2013

The Masi foundation announced the winners of the Masi Civiltà Veneta Prize 2013, who will sign the barrel of Amarone Masi dedicated to them.

Now in its XXXII edition, the Masi Civiltà Veneta Prize has been celebrating for over thirty years the creativity and commitment of persons or institutions in enhancing and promoting the fundamental values of society and civil life: science, current affairs, business and wine, social commitment. Their award is a signature on a barrel of Amarone, one of the most expressive and distinctive wines of the Veneto region.

Sandro Boscaini, Vice President of the Masi Foundation, president of Masi Agricola and founder of the Prize, explains it so: "The Prize and the Masi Foundation are closely related to our production history and are intended to translate into added value for our communities the success of a wine, Amarone, an expression of our territory. During those thirty years we have found out the best interpreters of those values that have made our region a great region and our Country a great Country, and on which we must continue to invest".


This year, seven are the distinguished winners:

"Grosso d'Oro Veneziano", the international recognition reserved for personalities who have contributed to spread a message of culture, solidarity and civic progress in the world, this year went to Marjane Satrapi, author of the autobiographical novel "Persepolis" for her commitment in the defense of the universal values​of freedom, justice and human integrity, through the denunciation of the repression of the regime in Iran.

'Civiltà Veneta' for personalities that best helped to establish and transmit the civil​​and universal values of the Veneto civilization, went to:
- The textile-entrepreneur of Vicenza Giovanni Bonotto who introduced the concept of "slow factory" recovering ancient production techniques of the territory and exporting worldwide tissues that have the "flavour" of Veneto and Italy,
- The neuroscientist of Friuli Giacomo Rizzolatti who found the existence of mirror neurons in the brain,
- The diplomat of Vicenza Sergio Romano for his neutrality and constancy in observing the Italian and international events that brought the journalist, historian, writer and diplomat Sergio Romano from Vicenza to be a interpreter of reference in current issues and past history.

The Masi International Prize for the "Civiltà del Vino" wants to reward the most representative personalities that helped to enhance the ancient culture of the vine. This year the prize was awarded to the project "The vineyards of Venice", which brings together three "archaeologists and pioneers of the vine" (Terre di Venezia / Venissa - Bisol, Orto di Sant'Erasmo - Michel Thoulouze, Associazione La Laguna nel Bicchiere Le vigne ritrovate - Flavio Franceschet). It was granted to them the merit of having rediscovered the historical vineyards of the city of Venice and its lagoon, between Serenissima and a gift of nature full of culture and art like wine.



The president of the Masi Foundation Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti commented: "At a time of collective crisis and general loss of orientation, the Masi Prize never ceases to emphasize personalities that defend the cultural roots offering new perspectives for the future and acting to example for the community". "Entrepreneurs need to be at the forefront in the promotion of culture," Sandro Boscaini, Vice President of the Masi Foundation, adds.