To Stefania De Pascale, the "Giancarlo Siani" Special Award.

Stefania De Pascale, a scientist and lecturer in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Naples Federico II, was awarded the "Giancarlo Siani" Special Prize, named after the young reporter for Il Mattino, a symbol of the fight against the Camorra and of free journalism, as part of the 16th edition of the Com&Te Literary Prize, which this year focused on the theme "Environment, the care of the common home."

The lecturer was honored for her essay Planting Potatoes on Mars. The Long Journey of Agriculture (Aboca Ed.), "a work capable of approaching and surprising," the motivations read, "about our natural and refined aptitude to do agriculture even in space and to derive food support and even real production cycles.

The popular jury, composed of secondary school students, also emphasized that the volume represents "a scientific and literary testimony that gives us an awareness of how much our life depends on the plant kingdom: a world without plants simply would not exist. A short treatise that explores the new frontiers of research and makes them usable and appealing."

The Com&Te Prize, now in its 16th edition, is a literary review that features salons, dialogues and interviews with authors of non-fiction and fiction works dedicated to the themes of ecology and sustainability. Its formula includes the direct involvement of secondary school students, who make up the popular jury also in charge of awarding the "Giancarlo Siani" Special Prize. Institutional partners for the 2025 edition include the Capodimonte Museum and Real Bosco in Naples, with sponsorship from influential local and national bodies.

For more information: Premiocomete.it - XVI Edition - March - September 2025