“2025 will be the eightieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War and this year will be the eightieth anniversary of the worst massacres, the ones we see today, the same things that many of our contemporaries experience. So that memory, of what was, that The legacy of millions of deaths has given us peace, a peace that must be built through dialogue and dreams.” It is with these strong words pronounced by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, that the award ceremony of the ‘Pico Prize’ concluded in Mirandola. Peace, Europe, dignity, are the words most frequently cited in all the speeches delivered from the stage of the Rita Levi Montalcini Auditorium, which hosted the event. The recognition, awarded every two years, this time saw the presentation of the precious golden bust, portraying the great humanist from Mirandola, Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, – an international award, absent yesterday, of which a video message was broadcast, Paolo Savona, president of Consob – National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange, – national award and, indeed, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of CEI – special award, who before the ceremony, to the surprise of many faithful, celebrated mass in the Cathedral. In the motivation of the jury which awarded the prize to the prelate, whose laudatio was pronounced by Giovanni Azzone, president of the Cariplo and Acri Foundation: “For his relevant and recognized pastoral action, and for having, as envoy of Pope Francis, promoted initiatives aimed at encouraging gestures of humanity that can contribute to promoting a solution to the current difficult geopolitical situation and to identifying ways to achieve a just peace”.
Established in 1989, the prize is awarded every two years and yesterday was the sixteenth edition. “The first meaning we want to give to our community – said the president of the Cassa di Risparmio di Mirandola Foundation Francesco Vincenzi – is that the Foundation is close to the needs of the territory and citizens to achieve common objectives, cooperation, solidarity, of the reduction of inequalities and, above all, of the economic and sustainable growth of our territory. With the winners we believe, together with the scientific committee, that we have made choices of people who have represented important steps for our country and who have carried out their roles with spirit of service towards the country. Once again we have done so with the awareness that the people chosen are current in terms of themes and ideas. The cardinal, in particular, represents the moment of conjunction between us and the peoples of the world of an aspiration for peace that is always questioned”.
Instead, it fell to Luigi Paganetto, honorary president of the Tor Vergata Economics University Foundation, to illustrate the reasons for the award to Metsola. “For the extraordinary impetus given to the European Parliament in difficult and challenging circumstances. It represented – as Paganetto recalled – a model difficult to match, providing a fundamental contribution to the values of the EU: freedom, equality, justice, sustainable growth. It has offered strong and profound support for the values and protection of the environment. At the same time he was able to combine the Christian values of tolerance, respect for minorities and solidarity in political and social action”. For Savona, the reasons for the award and the motivation were explained by Rainer Masera, president of the Jury who recalled “the contributions that Savona has given and is giving to economic science, geopolitics, financial regulation, fundamental regarding the theory of probability “.
