On November 16th 2024, the award ceremony for the Gambrinus Mazzotti Literary Prize, in the “Sala Borsa” of the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso-Belluno | Dolomiti took place.
The Gambrinus Mazzotti Literary Prize, a prestigious award dedicated to topics such as mountains, exploration, travel, ecology, landscape, traditional crafts, and Venetian culture through the “Window on the Veneto” section, is promoted by the Giuseppe Mazzotti Literary Prize Association. This initiative honors Giuseppe Mazzotti, a multifaceted intellectual from Treviso: writer, mountaineer, gastronome, and defender of Venetian villas, as well as a longtime advisor to the Italian Touring Club.
This year, the Special Jury Prize “Ulderico Bernardi” was awarded to Emanuela Evangelista, biologist and author of the book “Amazzonia. Una vita nel cuore della foresta”. Evangelista, who lives in the world’s largest rainforest, was recognized for “her ability to remind us that there is not just one Amazon.” The award highlights her talent in narrating a complex and unique reality, honoring not only her personal experience but also the importance of protecting one of the planet’s most precious ecosystems.
“Indeed, there is the forest, but there are also areas with greater human and agricultural presence, including large-scale soy cultivation and livestock farming. There is also a multitude of people who live in the forest and strive to preserve its biodiversity because they call the Amazon their home. This book is further praised for spotlighting the invaluable work that the author has been carrying out in the Amazon for over 20 years, reminding us that while we can travel to learn, the time has come to travel to build a different future for our planet and for all of us.”
“Here in the Amazon, you can truly feel the interdependence that creates the natural community,” the author emphasized in a video message recorded from her stilt house in the heart of the rainforest, “and it is something we often forget in our urban contexts.”
Information about the book – in Italian
