The festival

The Vicino/Lontano Festival has, since its very beginnings, been closely linked to the figure of the late journalist and writer Tiziano Terzani, to whose memory the Festival’s annual literary prize is dedicated. Held over four days in May, the Festival, which in 2016 will celebrate its 12th edition, encompasses a broad range of initiatives and events, including debates, discussion forums, seminars, lectures, exhibitions, performances and screenings. These events take place across the city in some of its most striking, historical buildings and attract a large and enthusiastic public.

Terzani Prize

The Terzani Prize, which pays homage to the Florentine journalist and writer Tiziano Terzani, was established in 2004 by the Udine cultural association Vicino/Lontano in agreement and with the collaboration of Terzani’s wife, Angela, and their son and daughter, Folco and Saskia Terzani.
At the first meeting of the Terzani Prize jury, on December 5, 2004, in Udine, the writer and war reporter Polish Ryszard Kapuscinski, now deceased, eloquently expressed the sense of the Terzani Prize within the Vicino/Lontano project:” I have very fond memories of Tiziano Terzani. It is said that we live in a globalized world, and yet, our world consists of a great number of regions, a multitude of diverse cultures.

History and mission

Vicino/Lontano is a not-for-profit cultural association founded in Udine, North-East Italy, in October 2004 by a group of private individuals with the aim of providing a public arena in which to explore and debate some of the key cultural, social, political and economic issues currently facing the world today. To this end, the Association organizes numerous events and cultural initiatives during the year, the highlight of which is the Vicino/Lontano Festival, held every May.

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