Lucio Colletti Award Goes to Author of Pluralia
The ceremony was held in Rome, in the Laudato Si’ Hall in the Capitol
On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the Italian philosopher Lucio Colletti (Rome, December 8, 1924, Venturina Terme, November 3, 2001), a prize in his memory was awarded on Saturday, December 7, 2024, to various outstanding figures in their fields, including Alessandro Banfi, one of the authors of this internet portal.
The Lucio Colletti Award, whose ceremony took place in Rome, in the Laudato Si’ Hall in the Capitol, is intended to remember and honor the man whose cultural, as well as political and civic commitment is renowned. Established in 2005, the award “is and intends to remain a hymn to freedom, courage, and moral rigor in the name of Lucio Colletti, who was, above all, a free man.” This is how Professor Carlo Monaco, who opened the ceremony and was a student and friend of Colletti, characterized it.
The award, a sculpture by artist Federico Capitani, was presented by the late philosopher’s wife, Fauzia Gavioli Colletti, who is president and animator of the Lucio Colletti Learning Center.
“I remember this outstanding teacher with a Marxist background who was looking for a new way to understand Italian history. For a long time he was an activist of the Communist Party, and then he became a parliamentarian for Forza Italia,” explained Alessandro Banfi. “Like all of you, I remember well his search for dialog, but also his acridness and his polemical skills, his quick wit, his ability to say something to someone by way of adjective. Having a Marxist background, he was intrigued by our Catholic culture, a bit unorthodox compared to the official culture of Italian Catholicism.”