Marisa Bellisario Award

President Fini, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, grazie mille.

More than a century ago a travel writer lamented, “There is no looking at a building after seeing Italy!” Joining you here in this beautiful palace, I have to agree.

But it’s not just Italy’s architecture I love. This is a country where history lives and breathes, alongside cutting-edge innovation… and the only match for the landscape’s beauty is the warmth of Italians themselves.