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Prize

"Fondazione Ernesta Besso di Venezia"

Call for entries for the international competition

The “Fondazione Ernesta Besso di Venezia”, set up in 1918 by the Triestine philanthropist, collector and bibliophile Marco Besso in honour of his wife Ernesta Pesaro Maurogonato, is by statute aimed “exclusively at the benefit of the female sex”.

 

The historical, political and cultural presence of the Foundation has played an important role over the course of a century in Italian civil society, whose evolution and development it has accompanied while always maintaining its specificity as an educational and training institution for women. This purpose made the Fondazione Ernesta Besso the first organisation in Rome (and one of the first nationwide) entirely dedicated to promoting women's education and teacher training. This was highly relevant and advanced for the time and largely anticipatory of women's organisations to this day.

 

The “Fondazione Ernesta Besso di Venezia” instituted

an annual international prize competition.

 

The Governing Board of the ‘Ernesta Besso’ Prize awards the prize to an unpublished scientific monograph (degree and doctoral thesis) that, on the basis of original research, investigates themes relating to the history of women and gender relating to periods between Antiquity and the contemporary age, with specific regard to the phases of evolution, moments of novelty in thought and turning points especially in relations with civil society and the State.

 

The prize, consisting of the publication of the monograph for the types of the FrancoAngeli publishing house in the Foundation's series ‘La biblioteca di Ernesta’, is particularly aimed at valorising innovative research by young scholars.

 

The prize will be awarded in Rome, in the premises of the

Fondazione Ernesta Besso di Venezia

Largo di Torre Argentina 11, Rome

on a date that will be promptly communicated to the winner.

 

The monographs may develop themes of women's history and gender in various fields:

  • history of education

  • history of law

  • history of art

  • history of literature

  • history of music

in relation to a worldwide geopolitical arc.

Rome, 1 july 2025

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Competition regulations

  1. The text may be written in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish.

  2. Each competitor, who must be a scholar who is not tenured at a university, must send a copy of the text by e-mail to convegni.ernesta.besso@gmail.com.
    The copy  must be sent in PDF format by 31 october 2025 and each competitor may only participate with one work.

  3. Each competitor must enclose an application form specifying their name and surname, date of birth, nationality, with a curriculum vitae, postal address and an e-mail address useful for all communications. All have to be sent to the same email address indicated for the delivery of the PDF.

  4. The judgement on the works submitted in accordance with the regulations and the relative merit list will be formulated by the ‘Ernesta Besso Prize’ Board of Directors.

  5. The same Board of Directors will decide collectively on the awarding of the prize.

  6. The winner must personally attend the awarding of the prize at the public presentation ceremony that will be organised following a study seminar on the winning monograph.

 

The President of the Board Directors

Prof. Marina Caffiero

Secretariat and contacts: Arianna Mele mele.aria@gmail.com

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