Philip Mazzei -The Bridge- Award

The Philip Mazzei – The Bridge Award will be celebrated on Sunday, November 9, 2008 from 4:30 to 7.30 pm at Palazzo Ambrosini in Venticamo (Avellino province), where guests will be welcomed, and at the Hotel Europa where the actual award ceremony will take place in the evening.

 
The Award, promoted by The American University of Rome, is a tribute to Philip Mazzei, an Italian surgeon, diplomat, historian and philosopher, ardent supporter of both religious and political freedom in America, who inspired Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe and especially Thomas Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence by inspiring the phrase "all men are created equal." 

The award is conferred upon Italian-American, American and Italian women and men who have contributed to the economic, political and cultural development of both the United States of America and Italy.

This year’s edition will be dedicated to the 19.643 Italian-American soldiers who gave their lives for Italy’s freedom during WWII. The award will honor personalities who have contributed to building a cultural and economic Bridge between Italy and the United States of America.

The location of this year’s award, Venticano (AV), is a place in the Irpinia region, Valle del Calore, historic theatre of the bloody Samnitic battles for independence from Rome, led by Hannibal. This is where the remains of the Ponte Appiano, an old Roman bridge uniting West and East, still lay, symbolizing people’s harmony.