"100th Anniversary Celebration" for the creator of Vigàta, the "Camilleri" Award goes to Roberto Andò

The two-day event dedicated to Andrea Camilleri, marking the centenary of his birth (which falls on September 6th), concluded before an audience of approximately 500 people. The event was organized by Strada degli Scrittori and the Agrigento Capitale della Cultura 2025 Foundation, in collaboration with the Andrea Camilleri Fund and the National Committee for the Centenary established by the Ministry of Culture. Three events dedicated to the writer from Empedocle, all sold out: the Olivia Sellerio concert, the conference on the "Language of Vigàta," and the "Centennial Celebration," which took place last night at the Panoramica dei Templi theater. The evening, hosted by Felice Cavallaro and Arianna Mortelliti, opened with the drums of San Calogero (the saint so beloved by Camilleri) and the dances of the "Val d'Akragas" folk dance company. A succession of writers, directors, and actors took to the stage to pay tribute to the "father" of Inspector Montalbano: Simonetta Agnello Hornby, Gaetano Aronica, Giuseppe Dipasquale, Costanza and Pietro DiQuattro, Donatella Finocchiaro, Giugiù Gramaglia, Paolo Licata, Rocco Mortelliti, Ester Pantano, Alessio Vassallo and Sara Zappulla Muscarà, and Manuela Ventura.

At the end of the "Festa," Maria Teresa Cucinotta, president of the Agrigento 2025 Foundation, presented director Roberto Andò with the "Andrea Camilleri Award," established by the Institute of the History of Sicilian Performing Arts, led by Sarah and Enzo Zappulla Muscarà. The award was presented for "his prestigious and multifaceted career spanning theater, film, and literature, as a director of prose and opera, of acclaimed films, and of an extraordinary show centered on Andrea Camilleri, the maestro from Vigàta, whom he directed for 'La conversazione su Tiresia', in his role as the blind soothsayer, performed at the Greek Theater in Syracuse in 2018."

"This award is a great honor for me," said Andò, "because Camilleri was a very important person in my life and a great writer, but he was also a great witness of his time because he addressed civil issues with a great sense of purpose and great courage. Therefore, receiving it here in Agrigento seems particularly significant to me. I think it's a place that should honor his memory well." At the end of the evening, Arianna Mortelliti, writer and Andrea Camilleri's granddaughter, announced that the awards ceremony for the first edition of the "Andrea Camilleri – New Storytellers" competition, of which she is artistic director and sponsored by the Camilleri Fund, will be held in Rome on September 20th. Finally, the announcement of the call for entries for the second edition was announced.

Follow the AgrigentoOggi channel on WhatsApp