MASI AWARD 2025: The ceremony at Monteleone21: a dialogue between culture and territory to reflect on identity, progress, and the challenges of the contemporary world.

The five winners – Alberto Bombassei , an entrepreneur from Vicenza, Fabrizio Plessi , an international artist, and Federica Manzon , a writer from Trieste, for the Masi Civiltà Veneta Award ; José Vouillamoz , a Swiss ampelographer and geneticist, for the Masi Civiltà del Vino International Award ; Gilles Kepel , a French political scientist, for the Grosso D'Oro Veneziano – were the protagonists of the talk moderated by journalist Alessandro Milan .

Sandro Boscaini, Vice President of the Foundation and President of Masi , introduced the ceremony from the Monumental Fruit Store, Masi's new wine tourism and experiential hub: "Monteleone21 is the new home of Amarone, but also a space where wine dialogues with art and culture. Today, we celebrate not only the excellence of the region, but Veneto's ability to interpret the challenges of the contemporary world."

Milan, inviting the award winners to the stage of the Agora, immediately entered into the heart of the conversation by introducing the common thread of this edition: “Progress and conflicts: paradoxes of the present” .

The theme, developed during the roundtable, explored one of the great contradictions of our time: if on the one hand, wars and conflicts arise from the need to assert an identity , on the other, rapid social, economic, cultural, climatic, and technological changes—including the transformations introduced by artificial intelligence—force humanity to confront the fear of losing that identity or, conversely, to build a new one. In this scenario, the technological dimension emerges as a force to be consciously governed , so that it does not escape human control but remains an instrument of human progress. Similarly, geographical borders, today more fluid, become spaces of fracture but also of redefinition, requiring conscious choices to transform conflicts into opportunities for growth, adaptation, and innovation.

The winners discussed these reflections.

Gilles Kepel , a profound expert on international dynamics, highlighted the fragilities of the Middle East as a mirror of global tensions, offering a timely reflection on the geopolitical framework and recalling the urgency of knowledge capable of guiding technological progress towards understanding between peoples, rather than towards new imbalances.

Federica Manzon reflected on the value of borders, which today have become both a place of encounter and rupture, and the relationship between creativity and artificial intelligence as a new terrain for the confrontation between freedom and limitation, highlighting how humanity must confront the construction or risk of losing its identity.

Fabrizio Plessi emphasized the role of art as a universal language capable of bridging differences, viewing technology not as a threat but as a tool for restoring emotion and humanity to the contemporary world.

José Vouillamoz turned his attention to the world of wine, where the challenges of climate change and global trade tensions require combining scientific innovation and biodiversity conservation, in a constant balance between progress and tradition.

Speaking in a video message, Alberto Bombassei recalled his Venetian roots and the value of innovation as a bridge between past and future, capable of supporting humanity in managing global and local changes.

After the talk show, Sergio Valente , Masi's importer in Taiwan , was awarded the Targa Giorgio Boscaini , an award that for over forty years has rewarded friendship, collaboration and contribution to the success of the brand and the promotion of Venetian values.

At the end of the event, the winners of the Venetian Civilization and the Civilization of Wine awards were presented with the precious bottles of Amarone Costasera , made by Venetian master glassmakers and silk-screened in gold, while Gilles Kepel was awarded the Grosso Veneziano, a gold creation by master goldsmith Alberto Zucchetta .