when you dedicate your entire life and passion to your profession

I keep a special place for the prize I received from the Premio Ischia Internazionale di Giornalismo

the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, had done me the honour of mentioning my name during the encounter reserved for winners of the Premio Ischia

Among the awards given to me over the course of a long career, I keep a special place for the prize I received from the Premio Ischia Internazionale di Giornalismo. It is true that when you dedicate your entire life and passion to your profession, it is gratifying to receive signs of recognition, in the true sense of the word. The members of the jury of a prestigious Prize recognised me and in turn I address to them this sign of my recognition.In the memories that I keep of those warm days of July 2006 on the fabulous island of Ischia, I find no trace of any merely formal hospitality. On the contrary, I was constantly given attentive and thoughtful care, and the fraternal warmth of my friends Eugenio Scalfari and Marcelle Padovani who were there with me. It is true that for quite some time I have had a special bond with the readership of the Italian press and with all my colleagues there as I am regularly in their newspapers, and also that I am always invited to their political and professional events. And so I am truly grateful. But beyond this, I also have to say that the perfection of the organisation has impressed me as I know that staging any event on an island can involve serious difficulties. Later, when I learned that the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, had done me the honour of mentioning my name during the encounter reserved for winners of the Premio Ischia, I was almost overwhelmed with pride. And so I wish the next winners, in July 2009, the same joy and gratification that the Premio has brought me; I congratulate them in advance and promise that I shall share in their excitement.