57th Gemelli Prize

An ideal handover between the roots and the future of our University. For the 57th edition of the Gemelli Prize, the award ceremony for the 12 best graduates of Università Cattolica took place in the presence of some of the first winners, awarded in the years between 1960 and 1975.

Established in 1960 in memory of the University's founder, Father Agostino Gemelli, the Prize continues, year after year, to enhance the merit and commitment of the best graduates of each Faculty. This year the ceremony returned to the Milan venue, taking place on 20 November in the Pius XI hall of the University in Largo Gemelli.

The event was hosted by Tonia Cartolano, alumna and journalist of SkyTg24, who stressed that this ceremony "is not an individual celebration of each of the students who receive the award but a work of sharing, a celebration of the history of this University, a celebration of merit, of possibilities, of efforts".

After the greetings of the Rector, Prof. Franco Anelli, Prof . Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi, Pro-Rector and new President of Alumni Cattolica – Associazione Ludovico Necchi , and Friar Renato Delbono, Spiritual Assistant of the Association, the first winners of the award took turns telling "what has remained" of their experience at Cattolica.

Lorenzo Ornaghi (Political Science, 1972); Alessandra Tarabochia (Literature and Philosophy, 1972); Ondina Greco (Magistero, 1972); Roberto Mazzarella Farao (Medicine and Surgery, 1969); Anna Maria Tarantola (Economics and Commerce, 1969); Vincenzo Mariconda (Law, 1967); Agostino Maroadi (Agraria, 1966) addressed the young graduates, urging them to never stop being curious and learning. In addition, they recounted how the course of study at Università Cattolica was important for the acquisition of a method, fundamental for personal and professional growth.

Also present in the hall were: Milena Nicolussi (Magistero, 1962); Vincenzo Cesareo (Political Science, 1964); Gianni Kaufmann (Political Science, 1969); Franco Gianni (Agriculture, 1969); Marco Piccolino (Medicine and Surgery, 1970); Alberto Roccella (Law, 1972); Cesare Tomasoni (Agriculture, 1973); Nicoletta Parisi (Political Science, 1974); Paolo Vittorio Guercio (Agriculture, 1975); Orazio Arena (Medicine and Surgery, 1975). All of them received a souvenir medal from the Rector.

The first winner of the Gemelli Prize in 1960 was Professor Francesco Realmonte: "I like to remember him," explains the President of Alumni Cattolica , "also because since 2009, the people close to him have decided to carry on his idea of education, training, support, closeness to the person, by establishing the Francesco Realmonte Association.  An association that is extremely close to the life of our University, which a few weeks ago moved its headquarters to the university and which carries out numerous projects in support of personal education in many contexts of global difficulty."

"His figure ," adds the Rector , "represents the professor of Università Cattolica who was the one that its founder had in mind. He belonged to a generation of professors who grew up together, who lived in boarding schools, who studied together in the places of the Institute where everyone studied and now this no longer exists for reasons of numbers, of mass, even of work. It is our task, however, to find a way to see how to renew, without replicating what has been, to be heirs of that generation that made the university as it has been described by all the people who have spoken today. It won't be easy to keep it with those characteristics, but having these figures in mind seems to me to be a way to do it."

Giovanni Realmonte, son of the Professor and President of the Association, wanted to express his best wishes to the awardees to urge them to "always look for love in the things you do as my father always did! »

The new doctors who received the award from Alumni Cattolica – Associazione Ludovico Necchi are: Luigi Regazzoni (Law), Chiara Spinelli (Political and Social Sciences), Francesca Bariselli (Economics), Marco Cristini (Literature and Philosophy), Marta Gulden (Education Sciences), Silvia Cantaboni (Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences),   Edoardo Staderini (Medicine and Surgery), Ilario Medaglia (Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences), Mario Barbarino (Banking, Finance and Insurance Sciences), Eleonora Filipponi (Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures), Gaspare Marina (Economics and Law), Mariagiulia Chichi (Psychology).

All the young winners of 2016 received a nominal silver medal and became full members of Alumni Cattolica – Associazione Necchi and also of the University's Premium Alumni community, thus being able to take advantage of a series of facilities and growth opportunities that the university is planning for its graduates. The initiative is part of the new UCSC Alumni Project.

In addition, to enhance their thesis projects, the abstracts will be published in e-books published by Vita e Pensiero, the publishing house of Università Cattolica.

From the very beginning, Università Cattolica has cared about the bond with its graduates," said Professor Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi, President of the Necchi Association and Deputy Vice-Rector. "Father Gemelli was strongly convinced that it was important for a university to continue to keep this type of relationship alive, and to this end he created the Ludovico Necchi Association, which over the years, with perseverance and commitment, has proposed itself as a meeting place for former students of our University. Precisely with the aim of strengthening relationships between those who have been part of the university community over the years, this year we have involved the first winners of the award in the Ceremony, who thus take on the role of witnesses capable of inspiring and stimulating the energies and talents of the new generations."