Laureates of the Amilcare Solferini International Prize in Turin

On Sunday, November 30, 2025, Pavone Castle in Turin hosted the award ceremony for the eighth edition of the Amilcare Solferini International Literary Competition.

Amilcare Solferini

About Amilcare Solferini

Amilcare Solferini was the pseudonym of Vittorio Actis Dato (1837–1929), an Italian writer, poet, and playwright from Turin. Writing primarily in the Piedmontese dialect, he became a key figure in Savoyard culture and a symbol of local literary tradition. Solferini also directed the magazine L Birichin, nurturing regional arts and literature. In recognition of his contributions, the city of Turin named a street after him, and his legacy continues through the Amilcare Solferini International Literary Competition, which celebrates poetry and creative writing from around the world.

This year, as in previous editions, the event was accompanied by numerous side initiatives inside the Pavone Canavese library, including a photographic exhibition by Igor Gribaldo and a drawing exhibition by artist Elvin Iorio.

His works, mainly written in the Piedmontese language, made him a reference point for Savoyard culture. During his life, he settled in the area of Rodallo, becoming a symbol of local culture. Following his legacy, Rodallo has continued to honor him through a dedicated literary competition. Over the years, the contest has grown from a local event into a national phenomenon, attracting poets from all over Italy and generating significant cultural and tourist impact.

The results of the 2025 Amilcare Solferini International Prize demonstrate that while Poetry and Beauty may not save the world, they can certainly make a difference.

One hundred authors from five continents submitted their poetic works, and the jury faced contributions from Russian, Ukrainian, Palestinian, and Israeli poets. It is no coincidence that the podium featured a Palestinian poet in first place and an Israeli poet in second.

Ahmed Miqdad from Gaza City, with My Loyal Cactus, reflected on moments of war far from home, seeing the thorns of his beloved plant as less piercing than the indifference and hypocrisy of many men.

Helen Bar-Lev from Israel, with Green to Heal, immersed in the fragrances of her garden, contemplated the healing greenery for wounds inflicted on her soul by war.

Agron Shele from Belgium was named “Poet of the Year,” and Shirani Rajapakse from Sri Lanka won the terracotta stele, to be created by artist Alessandro Actis Grosso.

Among the special awards, Neal Whitman (USA) received the Guido Chiarelli Prize for a nocturnal vision of Turin in Torino Perspective – Fibonacci Poem, while Anna Keiko (China) received the Aeronwy Thomas Prize for Moonlight, evoking reminiscences of the English poet’s nightscapes.

Alessandro Bulgini was the guest of honor at the award ceremony at Pavone Castle. The artist is renowned for his installations, particularly Neverland Gaza at FlashBack Habitat (Corso Giovanni Lanza 75, Turin), which since April has narrated stories of resilience through everyday objects and symbols of memory.

Bulgini is also the distinguished patron of the second edition of the Amilcare Solferini International Literary Competition.

Born in Taranto and based in Turin, he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara in theater set design and has lived in numerous Italian cities. Hard to categorize within any artistic movement, Bulgini works across a wide spectrum of media, from painting and photography to video and performance. From the outset, his research has focused on the invisible and the submerged. Between 1990 and 2000, he created the Le déjeuner sur l’herbe series, and from 2001 to the present, the Hairetikos and Opera Viva cycles.

Neverland Gaza is the installation Bulgini presented in 2025 at FlashBack Habitat, Turin. The work draws inspiration from a gesture as simple as it is subversive: sharing tea amid the ruins of Gaza during Ramadan. In that repeated act, even in the most extreme contexts, Bulgini recognizes an echo of poetic resistance.

Other Laureates of the 2025 Amilcare Solferini International Prize

The competition also recognized the work of numerous talented poets from around the world, including:

Ana Stjelja (Serbia/UAE), Mirjana Štefanicki Antonić (Serbia), Zlatan Demirović, Cao Shui (China), Ahmed Miqdad (Gaza City), Mirela Leka Xava (France/Albania), Chidubem Detlev Ekwueme (Nigeria), Haji Mohd Ali bin Haji Radin (Brunei), Eldora Betsy Lyngdoh (India), Shirani Rajapakse (Sri Lanka), Nikola Nadlački (Serbia), Lucilla Trapazzo (Switzerland), K.A.K. (Russia), Dimitris P. Kraniotis (Greece), Suad Al Kuwari (Qatar), Tetina Vasylivna Hritsan Chonke (Ukraine), Alicja Maria Kuberska (Poland), Sophia Tomaso (Greece), Germain Droogenbroodt (Belgium), Anđela Bunoš (Serbia), Stanley Barkan (USA), Aleksandra Vujisić (Montenegro), Maki Starfield (Japan), Vatsala Radhakeesoon (Mauritius), Joseph Farina (Canada), Lara Dolphin (USA), Tanja Ajtić (Serbia), Dušan Stojković (Serbia), Nonvithy David Roland Soglo (Benin), Timothée Bordenave (France), and Antonia Petrone (Italy).

This diverse group highlights the truly international nature of the competition, bringing together voices from every continent to celebrate poetry as a bridge between cultures, experiences, and perspectives.

Video poetry of the laureates can be found at this link