The "Matilde Donna Europea" (Matilde: a European Woman) theme is highly topical and contemporary. She is the most important female figure in Medieval Europe and one of the leading figures recounted by history. The Grand Duchess was in every respect a European woman. She was courageous, learned, of noble birth and had an international cultural outlook. She played a key part as intermediary in the struggle between the two great powers that dominated Europe in the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy. She was actively involved in European political affairs, having a profound influence at a social and cultural level. The Matildic dominions, lying between the Emperor’s territories and those of the Church, were of significant strategic value, forming a “buffer” zone highly sought-after by both sides. Matilde played a fundamental role as mediator, culminating in the famous meeting in January 1077 between the Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII at Canossa Castle.
The Countess’s eventful life goes well beyond the stereotype of the woman of power, revealing the profile of a complex female figure caught between matters of government and the loneliness of the stateswoman, between “the affairs of the world” and the longing for a contemplative life, between successes in public life and difficulties in private life, the common theme of which is the restlessness of a figure destined to challenge the conventions, prejudices and scepticism of the male powers of the time.
The charisma and fascination of a woman who embodied what it means to be a woman in the heart of the Middle Ages has given rise to a legend extending over almost a thousand years and has ended up by also being an important part of contemporary European history (not only Emilian).
The reintroduction, in 2008, of the Matilde Prize, an award assigned to a woman who has distinguished herself in Italy or in Europe for her contribution in favour of women in political, economic, social, cultural or artistic fields, fits into this context. It’s a high-profile Prize dedicated to all women, their courage and their ability to take a stand against the injustices and prejudices to which they are still subjected.
The award ceremony, the jury for which will be chaired by Professor Rita Levi Montalcini, already winner of the Matilde Prize in the 1980s, took place at the castle on last 26 September 2008 in the evocative setting of Bianello Castle (Quattro Castella).
Maria Novak is a development economist, born in Poland in 1935. She's the author of the book "Not only lends itself to the rich. The microcredit revolution "(Einaudi, Torino), which did assign the bizarre title 'bankers of the poor".
Maria Novak was selected by a jury chaired by Professor Rita Levi Montalcini and composed of leading Italian figures: the journalist Natalia Aspesi, the President of the Emilia Romagna Chamber of Commerce Anna Maria Artoni, the film director Gian Franco De Bosio and Prof. Paolo Golinelli of the University of Verona.
