OnMilwaukee.com managing editor Bobby Tanzilo was in Asti, Italy last weekend to accept a journalism award presented by the city of Asti and its tourism department.
Tanzilo won the "Premio Asti-Piemontesi nel mondo" prize for an article about Asti's historic Palio horse race, which appeared on OnMilwaukee.com in September. The awards were presented at a ceremony Saturday, Dec. 17 in the city's stunning Teatro Alfieri.
He was among a group of a dozen prize winners; a group that included prestigious Italian journalists Emilio Gianelli, veteran caricaturist for the famous Corriere della Sera newspaper from Milan; Lorenzo Mondo, retired literary critic and vice director of Turin's La Stampa newspaper, one of the top three in Italy; and freelance food and wine columnist Paolo Massobrio, who is well-known in Europe.
"The prize recognized the Palio article I wrote for OnMilwaukee," said Tanzilo, "but I think it was also meant to recognize the work I do to raise awareness of the Monferrato with my Web site and also my collaborations with AstiTurismo this past summer."
Tanzilo's Web site, monferrini.com has articles, photos, history and other information about the Monferrato area of the northwestern Italian region of Piedmont, which will host the 2006 Winter Olympics in February. Asti is one of the principle cities in the Monferrato.
He also helped organize the Regional Cultural Exhibit featuring Piedmont at the 2005 Festa Italiana and set up a wine tasting at Mo's Cucina with AstiTurismo officials and a winery in nearby Rosignano, Italy, during Festa.
"My great-grandparents came to America from the Monferrato and I have a lot of family and friends there," said Tanzilo. "So, to receive this award and have a surprise opportunity to visit with them at the holidays was really a treat. Being honored by Asti in this way has really touched my heart."
Articles on the prize mentioning -- and sometimes also picturing -- Tanzilo appeared in La Stampa, Gazzetta di Asti, Il Monferrato (for which Tanzilo also occasionally writes), La Nuova Provincia and other newspapers.
Tanzilo said that during his whirlwind two and a half days in Italy he also met with officials from the Unione Piemontesi del Mondo, an international group for which he does regular translation work, about future event collaborations in Milwaukee with Piedmontese groups, and with members of a folk group that hopes to perform in Milwaukee at the 2006 Festa Italiana.
