The jurist’s name went down in history thanks to an arbitration award rendered on 8 April 1500 in the context of a dispute that she had been tasked with resolving. At the court of the Venetian governor of Trani, Giustina Rocca pronounces the arbitration award in the vernacular – rather than in Latin according to the customs of the time – to make it understandable to the public who came to witness the pronouncement. She then summons the losing party to pay her the usual fees, thus underlining, in an era in which women had no access to either education or the practice of legal professions, her desire to be treated equally. of the men who had such prerogatives. By calling Rocca di lei the tallest tower of her, the Court of Justice of the European Union recalls its attachment to accessibility to law and justice by all and reiterates, echoing its own jurisprudence, its commitment in favor of equal opportunities.
Trani honored her by dedicating a national award to her, which ended yesterday with the award ceremony in a crowded “Giovanni Bovio” municipal library and a big party. The final phase of the award took place over two days, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th May, with many initiatives and study seminars to celebrate the memory and legacy of the Tranese lawyer of the 1500s. An event which included participation in the competition from part of young professionals (lawyers and trainees) under the age of 35 from all the Italian Bars who had sent their papers on the issues of gender equality and violence against women within the established deadlines.
The idea of the prize thus structured and its organization comes from the Lions Club ‘Ordinamenta Maris’ of Trani, chaired by the engineer. Elio Loiodice, with the collaboration of the City of Trani and the Bar Association of Trani, chaired by the lawyer. Francesco Logrieco, with the patronage of the National Forensic Council, Lions International – Italy as well as Multidistrict Lions 108 Italy and District 108AB Puglia, Puglia Region, PACT, Province of Barletta Andria Trani, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, White Cross, “Equal opportunities Trani” Commission and Rai Puglia, in collaboration with the partners Giurispedia, Edizioni Duepuntozero and Skémata author’s robes. Many sponsors have joined the initiative, recognizing its importance: the master craftsman Matteo Tedeschi, La fille des Fleurs by Sabino Tupputi, BCC Santeramo in colle, Pasta Riscossa F.lli Mastromauro, Olio e Tempesta, Gesfor training institution and l communication agency Mediterranean Synesthesia.
About thirty professionals arrived in Trani from various Italian forums from north to south of the peninsula, authors of the papers evaluated by a high-profile Scientific Judging Commission, entirely present at the final ceremony, composed of eminent academic and legal figures: the profs. adv. Aldo Loiodice (president of the commission), lawyer. Armando Regina, lawyer. Angela Patrizia Tavani of the ‘Aldo Moro’ University of Bari, Dr. Gia Serlenga, Judge at the Regional Administrative Court of Bari, lawyer. Costanza Manzi and lawyer. Antonio Giorgino, expression of the Council of the Order of Trani.
Laura Monti of the Foro of Ravenna is the winner of the first edition of the Giustina Rocca national award. The lawyer receives the largest prize of 3,000 euros, awarded by the City of Trani and delivered by the association. Cecilia Di Lernia, representing the mayor Amedeo Bottaro. In addition to the cash prize, the winner was also awarded 1500 euros in legal texts (from Edizioni Duepuntozero). Daniela Garrisi of the Lecce Bar went to the second prize, worth 2,000 euros, kindly provided by the family of the Trani lawyer Pasquale Ronco through the Council of the Bar Association of Trani, delivered by its president Francesco Logrieco who remembered the The Ronco lawyer is always close to young people and women, with the firm now run by his daughters Marika and Annalisa. The third prize, of 1,000 euros, was awarded to Laura Febert of the Reggio Calabria Court (not present at the ceremony) and made available by the Lions LC Apulia Foundation.
The prizes, from the fourth to the sixth, went to Anna Chiara Dellerba of the Foggia Court, Noemi Mallone of the Turin Court, Arianna Gargiulo of the Verona Court, who were awarded a framed canvas print reproducing the ancient Molinaro curtain dedicated to the Ordinamenta Maris of the master craftsman Matteo Tedeschi.
All six winners also received essential supports for the practice of the legal profession such as access to a very useful database with Artificial Intelligence from Giurispedia, a tablet holder by La fille des Fleurs; a Skémata toghe backpack; the preview volume “The protection of the person of the red code”, Edizioni Duepuntozero by Claudia Carioti, also present at the ceremony.
A lifetime achievement award, the prestigious “Melvin Jones Fellow”, the highest international recognition for Lions, was awarded by the Governor of District 108 AB, the lawyer. Leonardo Potenza, to Dr. Silvana Sciarra, jurist from Trani, President Emeritus of the Constitutional Court and President of the Steering Committee of the Higher School of the Magistracy who, unable to attend the ceremony due to institutional commitments, sent her thoughts of thanks: «I really care to express my gratitude for the recognition you give me and for the attention towards my professional commitment. This makes me even more proud, because the awards ceremony takes place in my hometown, Trani. I had the great privilege of engaging as a constitutional judge in the nine-year mandate and of presiding over the college of judges in the final phase of the same. I am grateful to you for choosing to remember this commitment of mine in a guarantee body, the Constitutional Court, towards which all of us citizens must look with respect”.
A further special out-of-competition prize, consisting of a Skémata lawyer’s robe with the registered logo of the Giustina Rocca Award depicted, was awarded directly by Francesca Molinari, founder of Skèmata Author’s robes, and by the prefect Antonio Apruzzese to the lawyer . Costanza Manzi, dean of the Bar Association of Trani and member of the scientific judging commission.
In the parterre of an overflowing municipal library ‘Giovanni Bovio’ many institutional personalities and those belonging to the academic and legal world: Dr. Sergio Mazzia, Vice Prefect of the Province of Barletta Andria Trani, the lawyer. Leonardo Potenza, President of the Board of Governors of the Lions of Italy, Dr. Emanuele Tatò, incoming governor of the 108AB Puglia District, current director of the “Dimiccoli” hospital in Barletta, Eng. Pasquale Di Ciommo, past Lions governor, profs. Andrea Lovato, Director of the Law Department, and Francesco Mastroberti of the University of Bari Aldo Moro who before the start of the award ceremony held as speakers the seminars on the historical figure of the jurist from Trani with the speeches “Giustina Rocca and her time” and “The strange case of Giustina Rocca’s arbitration” and, finally, the editor of Duepuntozero and Giurispedia, Giuseppe Daloiso.
At the end of the awards ceremony, the procession of professionals who came from all over Italy, together with the organizers and sponsors, crossed a spectacular Via Mario Pagano, renamed the Via di Giustina, embellished for the occasion with lush branches of peach blossoms, donated by Pietro Tempesta (Olio Tempesta and Vivaio Uniflor di Terlizzi), to come to Fefino, Gloriana Tesoro’s natural cuisine restaurant, for a “typical aperitif”, with the involvement of the commercial activities and associations of the characteristic street of shops and artists of Trani, chosen as a set by Lina Wertmüller and made famous by her film “Saturday, Sunday and Monday” with Sofia Loren, set in Naples, but filmed in Trani. Here, after having tasted food and wine delicacies, welcomed by the musical selections of the DJ Mario Grilli, also a lawyer, in an extemporaneous manner the councilor Cecilia Di Lernia, the lawyer Costanza Manzi and the lawyer. Angela Patrizia Tavani, professor at the ‘Aldo Moro’ University of Bari, dedicated beautiful words of encouragement to the young lawyers from all over Italy for the profession and for their role in society and in the world of work which makes them unique.
The ceremony and the procession to discover via Mario Pagano and other enchanted places in Trani, including Palazzo Lodispoto which houses the diocesan museum, where the funeral stele is kept, whose epitaph was written by Giustina herself on the occasion of the premature death of his daughter Cornelia – the slab was later used as a headstone for both of their tombs – and the majestic cathedral on the sea, as well as the court (formerly the Court of Appeal of Puglia) were documented by the lens of photographer Vito Rizzi from Barletta.
The route through the city streets ended in Via Ognissanti with Dino Lobascio, owner of Lodi jewelery and goldsmith’s shop, who donated a small gift from the Pupillo line to the lawyers participating in the prize.
Furthermore, a delegation from the Italian Legal Observatory (honorary president Prof. Alessandro Meluzzi), coming from Campania, was present throughout the two days in Trani to pay tribute to Giustina, also through the talks given by her mentor, the criminologist lawyer . Tiziana Barrella, author of the book with prof. Meluzzi “Corpo Cuore Comunicazione” (OM Edizioni), which on Friday 24th held a very interesting meeting open to the public and schools on body language and non-verbal communication as working tools in the forensic and criminological field.
An event which saw the hotels, B&Bs and restaurants of Trani populated by quality tourism during the two days dedicated to Giustina.
A huge applause goes to the impressive organizational effort implemented by the Trani Lions Club ‘Ordinamenta Maris’, with the entire commission made up of the engineer. Elio Loiodice, Dr. Ghita Farnelli, lawyer. Alessandro Moscatelli, lawyer. Domenico Lamantea and lawyer. Francesco Demarinis who, together with their partners, celebrated the figure of Giustina Rocca with commitment and dedication in the best possible way with the first edition of the Award dedicated to her. «These types of initiatives help promote awareness and action against gender inequalities and violence, while at the same time supporting the professional training of young lawyers. We are already thinking about the second edition – declare the organizers – which will probably cross the borders of the city of Trani to celebrate the memory and legacy of the 1500s lawyer, known throughout the world”.
