For fifty years the Val di Comino“ Literary Prize” is one of the longest-running and most prestigious cultural events in Italy.
Founded in 1976 by the writer Gerardo Vacana, the prize has been able to stand the test of time while remaining true to its original mission: promote culture, poetry and literature in the heart of southern Lazio, in the picturesque setting of Alvito, in the heart of the Comino Valley.
An important milestone, that of 50th anniversary, which confirms the commitment of an entire community in preserving and handing down a unique cultural heritage, made up of books, authors and faces that have marked the history of the Italian literary scene.
🎬 Eleonora Brown, the “Rosetta” of Ciociara, awarded in Alvito
The 2025 edition of the “Val di Comino” Prize wanted to pay tribute to a symbolic figure of Italian film culture: Eleanor Brown, the famous interpreter of Rosetta, the daughter of Sophia Loren in the masterpiece film “La Ciociara”.” by Vittorio De Sica.
She was only 12 years old when she was chosen for the role that changed her life forever.
Alongside Sophia Loren - who won an Oscar for Best Actress thanks to that film - Eleonora Brown played with extraordinary intensity the tragedy and rebirth of a generation scarred by the war.
Many scenes were filmed in the hills and churches of Vallecorsa, in the heart of Ciociaria, a few kilometres from the Comino Valley.
It was precisely here that De Sica set one of the most touching sequences in the history of Italian cinema: the rape of Cesira and Rosetta in front of the small church of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Sixty-five years later, Eleanor Brown, now 77, receives the Val di Comino 2025“ Award” in recognition of his career and his artistic and human contribution.
The official ceremony will be held Sunday 26 October 2025 at 6 p.m. at Alvito Municipal Theatre, in the presence of the winners of the other sections and the Centre for Literary Studies “Val di Comino”, led by Gerardo and Luigi Vacana.
✍️ The winners of the 50th edition
The jury, consisting of Giovanna Iorio, Marcello Carlino e Maddalena Vacana, proclaimed the following winners:
Poetry
- Maria Benedetta Cerro - for his work as a whole
- Alessandrina De Rubeis — The Snow and the Tangerine
- Amerigo Iannacone — In memoriam for Ruit Hora
Literary non-fiction
- Tommaso Di Brango — Writings of the unfinished
Historical non-fiction
- Aldo Cazzullo — Mussolini the ringleader
Local history
- Rosanna Tempesta — San Donato Val di Comino from the Bourbon Kingdom to the Unitary State
Journalism
- Fabrizio Casinelli e Francesca Spaziani Testa
🎶 An evening of words, music and memory
The award ceremony will be followed by a literary recital with readings by Dionisio Paglia and by a concert of honour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Prize.
An opportunity to meet, remember and look forward, in the name of the culture that unites the villages and people of the Comino Valley.