History of "Leonardo da Vinci International Prize" 

It  was  the  year  1973,  when  the  Rotary  Club  Firenze,  approaching  the  50th  anniversary  of  its foundation, decided to found a prize to award young scholars who intended, also with the aid of the prize,  to  continue  their  studies  and  work  in  their  particular  field,  even  though  they  had  already acquired special merit. To confirm the precise intention of making the prize open to every artistic, scientific and literary discipline, it was decided to name it after Leonardo da Vinci, who symbolizes the most elevated expression of the human spirit and whose genius has left profound marks in many fields of  knowledge and  culture. Inspired  by  the  universally  renowned figure  of Leonardo,  it was thought to make the prize appropriate to one of the main Rotarian vocations, the internationality. It obtained the  prompt,  enthusiastic adherence  of  other European  Rotary  Clubs. The  Rotary Club of Tours, Athinai and Wien-Ring immediately confirmed their participation.

At the end of 1974 the "International Leonardo da Vinci prize" was founded. A special commission of the Presidents of Florence Rotary Club, Tours, Athinai and Wien-Ring  had  provided,  among  other  things,  precise  statuary characteristics:  the  amount  to  be  awarded  to  the  winner  at  that  time  was  two  million  lire  or  its equivalent in foreign  currency, today the  value  of the Prize  is  12.000 Euros. The  awarding of the prize took place annually in the cities of the participating Rotary Clubs: Florence, Tours, Athens and Wien.

The nomination of the prize winner is made by an eminent personality of unquestioned international reputation, selected, like the discipline, by a panel of judges formed by the Rotary Club organizing the ceremony. It is an absolute guarantee of the merits of the prize-winner and, at the same time, the distinguished figure of the prize giver.

The  first  ceremony  took  place  in  Florence  on  the  13th  April  1975:  the  prize-winner  was  the American painter Ben Long, nominated by the Maestro Pietro Annigoni. In the Salone de’ Duecento in Palazzo Vecchio, the prize was solemnly awarded by the past international President Giampaolo Lang.

In 1976, in Tours, the Count of Paris conferred the prize on the young Renaissance art historian Jean Guillaume, pupil of Andre Chastel, with a ceremony in the Castle of Amboise, residence of the king Francis I, patron of Leonardo.

In  1977,  the  Mayor  of  Athens  awarded  the  prize  to  two  young  sculptors,  Stravos  Valasakis  and Constantinos Palaiologos, nominated by Professor George Rallis, Minister of Education.

In  1978,  Dr. Otto  Prohaska,  inventor  of  a  multiple  integrated  probe  for  cortico-cerebral  research, received the prize in Vienna from the President of the Republic Rudolf Kirchschläger. The ceremony was held in Palais Schwarzenberg, where the Minister for Scientific Research, Mrs Hertha Firnberg, was also present.

The  first  cycle  came  to  the  end  and  the  perfect  success  of  the  four  encounters,  the  consequent widespread enthusiasm, as well as the fraternal friendship which united the four Rotary Clubs, meant that  other  frontiers  had  to  be  crossed. The  cultural  importance  of  the  prize,  the  possibility  of achieving a common, useful, effective and significant initiative, the symbolic value of a pleasant and exaggeratedly-awaited annual meeting among Rotarians from various European countries, induced other European Rotary Clubs to request their adherence to the Leonardo da Vinci Prize. 

Thus, other Rotary Clubs joined the four founding members in the following order: Madrid in 1979, Brussels in 1983, London and Würzburg in 1984, Amsterdam in 1987.

The  second  cycle  began  with  the  prize's  return  to  Florence:  the  music  critic  Leonardo  Pinzauti proposed the fifteen-year-old violinist Alberto Bologni, pupil of Maestro Sandro Materassi, a well-known  name  among  violinists  worldwide. The  ceremony  took  place,  once  more,  in  the  Salone de’Duecento in Palazzo Vecchio, on the 21st of April 1979.

The  choice  made  in  1980  by  Tours  Rotary  Club  was  of  particular  scientific  importance:  in  the Château  d'Artigny  the  prize  was  awarded,  by  Michel  Debré,  ex  Prime  Minister,  to  the  young virologist Claude Naudion for setting-up a diagnostic test and vaccine against infectious hepatitis.

In 1981 Madrid Rotary Club awarded the prize to the geologist and hydrologist Ferdinando López Vera, author, among other things, of an interesting "Atlas of the hydric resources of Latin America". The prize was given by the Dean of the University of Madrid. 

In 1982, in Athens, in the Chamber of the Senate, the ex-President of the Republic, Konstantinos Tsatsos, conferred the prize on the twelve-year-old pianist Dimitris Sgouros, whose reputation had already crossed the borders of Greece as he had performed in New York with the National Symphony Orchestra.

In 1983, in Vienna, the President of the Republic awarded the prize in the ceremony hall of Palais Schwarzenberg, to Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair for important studies and discoveries in the development and testing of cochlear prostheses.

In  1984,  in  Palazzo  Vecchio,  the  Mayor  of  Florence  awarded  the  prize  to  the  nuclear  physicist Giovanni Bonvicini, nominated by Professor Antonino Zichichi,  who  tutored  him at  the European Centre for Nuclear  Research in Geneva, first as a student and then as a  prized member of a team engaged in experiments in "wide-spectrum neutrino beams".

The ex-Prime Minister of France, Michel Debré, in 1985, in the Jean de Ockeghem Centre in Tours, conferred  the  prize  on  the  architect  Patrick  Blettery,  author  of  a  revolutionary  project  for  an underwater city: a fantastic project in Leonardo da Vinci's style.

In  1986,  in  the  Auditorium  of  the  Palais  des  Académies  of  Brussels,  the  Nobel  Prize  winner Professor Ylia Prigogine, awarded two physicists: Dr. Baidyanath Misra, a graduate of the University of Delhi who run a Department of the International Institutes of Physics and Chemistry, founded by Ernest Solvay, together with Dr. Yves Elskens, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain. The research  of  the  two  prize  winners  contributed  to  the  study  of  "irreversible  processes  in  statistical mechanics". 

In 1987 London celebrated the 13th  Leonardo Prize in an atmosphere and a setting which enhanced the  traditions  of  the  Rotarians  on  the  other  side  of  the  Channel. The  highest  point  of  the  award ceremony  was  when  the  famous  violinist  Sir  Yehudi  Menuhin  presented  the  young  Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the Lord Mayor, Sir David Rowe-Ham, conferred the Prize. 

Particularly interesting was the awarding of the prize in Würzburg, where in 1988 Professor T.H. Schiebler introduced Dr. Dietrich Lorke from Hamburg, a pathologist, who devoted his research to disturbances of growth and development of the brain. In the stupendous "Kaisersaal der Würzburger Residenz”, frescoed by Tiepolo, the prize was awarded by Professor W. Wild, Minister of Culture and Science of Bavaria.

In 1989 the prize returned to Madrid where Professor Severo Ochoa, Nobel Laureate for medicine, awarded, in the Aula Magna of the Real Monasterio de El Escorial, the biochemist Dr. Julián Agut Sánchez, author of important researches on the connection between neurotransmitters and membrane phospholipids, a determining factor in senile pathologies.

Amsterdam  held  the  prize  ceremony,  for  the  first  time,  in  1990:  in  the  historic  Nieuwe  Kerk, Professor Ronald de Leeuw, Director of the "Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh", presented the young sculptor Joost van der Toorn, who received the prize from the Mayor of Amsterdam, E. van Thijn.

In the suggestive surroundings of the theatre of Attic Herod, at the foot of the Acropolis, in Athens in 1991, the vice Prime Minister Konstantinos Konelopoulos awarded the violinist Leonidas Kavakos a prized student  of illustrious  maestros  such as  Dmitri Shostakovich,  Esa  Pekka Salonen,  Raymond Leppard and Mstislav Rostropovich.

In 1992 the prize returned to Vienna: the subject chosen was ecology and more precisely "to build ecologically  in  harmony  with  nature". Dr. Scholten,  Federal  Minister  of  Culture,  awarded  the architect  Helmut  Deubner  who  projected  and  constructed  in  Vienna  the  "Gaertnerhof"  housing complex which, unique in the world, is a pioneering work in the field of ecological building.

Once more  in Tours  in 1993 where  the President  of  the Senate,  Mr. René Monory,  conferred the prize on  the engineer Frédéric Patat for his studies  on space physiology and the acoustics of high frequencies, validating instruments installed for the first time in 1982 in the "Saliout7" spaceship. He put aside the prize money for the perfecting a project for a "piezoelectric immunodetector". 

In the year 1994 the prize was hosted again in Florence, in the Salone de’ Cinquecento in Palazzo Vecchio,  the Dean of Florence University, Professor Paolo Blasi, conferred the prize to the young architect Fabrizio Rossi Prodi, who was nominated by Professor Pierluigi Spadolini.

The next year, in 1995 in Brussels Charles Picqué, Ministre Président de la Region de Bruxelles-Capital, awarded the Prize to the pianist Johan Schmidt.

In 1996 in London,  following  the presentation made by Jeremy Isaacs,  Superintendent  of Covent Garden,  H.E. Prince  Philip  of  Edinburgh  awarded  at  Buckingham  Palace,  Joan  Quinn,  a  young draftswoman who was author of a satirical cartoon on the long history of Great Britain.

In Würzburg, in the "Hofstuben der Festung" of Marienberg Fortress, which towers over the hills of Franconia,  S. K. H. Franz  Herzog,  descendant  of  the  ancient  Family  of  Wittelsbach,  Duchies  of Baveria, in the year 1997 conferred the prize to a musical quartet conducted by Klaus Ospald. The Staatsminister, Dr. Thomas Goppel, attended the ceremony.

In Madrid in 1998, inside the splendid Retiro Park-Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez, the Lord Mayor Don  María  José  Álvarez  del  Manzano,  awarded  the  prize  to  Eig  Omada,  creator  of  highly appreciated drawings. 

In 1999 in Amsterdam, inside the Oude Kerk, the most ancient church of the town, the Lord Mayor awarded  the  prize  to  the  young  sculptor  Benoît  Hermans,  who  was  nominated  by  Prof. Leeuuw, Director of the Rijksmuseum.

In the 2000 year the prize was  held  in  Athens inside  the evocative  ancient  Parliament,  where  the President of Greece conferred the prize to the well-known painter Nikolaos Frantzolas.

The mathematician Renate Motschnig was the winner of the 2001 prize held in Vienna, which was awarded at the "Festsaal der Universitat" by Professor Skalicky, Dean of Polytechnic University of Engineering.

In 2002 in  Tours, Mr. Hervé Novelli, a Member of the European Parliament for Turenna Region, presented the prize  to  the engineer M. Frédéric  Brochet, who  made interesting studies in  the new field of wine making engineering.

In 2003, for the fifth time, the Prize returned to Florence and the fascinating adventures of man in air and  in  space  was  chosen  to  celebrate  the  centennial  of  the  first  human  flight  to  which  Leonardo dedicated many of  his  observations. "The  big  bird will  make  its  first  flight  over  the  hillock  of  the great Cècero, filling up the Universe of astonishment, filling up with its fame all the writings and of eternal glory the nest in which it was born" (Fiesole 1505 - Manuscript on birds' flight - Turin Royal Library). In honor of so many space explorers, Professor Mario Calamia, General Director of Italian Space Agency, introduced the astronaut Roberto Vittori, who participated in a space flight. The prize was conferred by the Italian Defense Secretary.

In 2004, the prize celebrated its thirtieth birthday. The ceremony was held in Brussels, where Baron Philippe Roberts-Jones, Secretary Permanent of the Real Academy of Belgium, awarded Françoise Rosier for her excellent and distinguished work in the conservation and restoration of paintings.

Another woman  won the  prize in  London  in  2005. Sir Nicholas  Goodison, in  the suggestive  and gorgeous  surrounding  of  the  Goldsmiths’  Company,  awarded  Sidsel  Dorph-Jensen  for  silver creations. She was introduced by Martin Dru Drury, President of the Goldsmiths’ Company.

In 2006, the prize was held again in the charming atmosphere of Würzburg, inside the magnificent "Hall of the Emperor" in the Castle Residence, Roman Herzog, past-President of Federal Germany, awarded  the  young  Italian  biologist,  Rebecca  Basile,  for  her  interesting  research  on  the  social behavior of the bees.

In Würzburg, during the meeting of the Clubs’ Presidents and General Secretary, it was decided to accept as a new member of Leonardo da Vinci Prize the friends of Dublin Rotary Club.

In 2007, in the warm atmosphere of Madrid, in the Real Casa de Correos, Don Santiago Grisolía, Nobel Laureate for his biochemical studies, introduced don Emilio Benito García for his effort on the future of hospital nursing. The Health Minister of Madrid conferred the prize.

In  2008,  in  Amsterdam,  the  34th  edition  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  Prize  was  organized. During  a magnificent ceremony in the Muziekgebouw aan't IJ, the new and impressive Concert Hall, Professor Ronald  Plastrek,  Minister  of  Education,  Culture  and  Science,  awarded  the  young  architect  Ties Rijcken for his project on "floating houses".

In 2009,  in the splendid meeting hall of  the old Parliament of Athens, the Mayor  of the city, Mr. Nikitas  Kaklamanis,  awarded  the  young  artist  Dionisios  Grammenos,  an  excellent  clarinet  player, presented by the Maestro George Katsaros.

The edition of 2010 took place in Vienna, the glorious Habsburg town, in the suggestive location of the University. The winner was Julius Brennecke, an outstanding researcher in the field of genetic regulatory  mechanism. He  was  awarded  by  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Austria,  Dr. Heinz Fischer.

In 2011, the 37th edition of the Leonardo da Vinci Prize was held in Dublin, the town that hosted the Leonardo Leicester Codex. The Prime Minister of Irland Enda Kenny awarded the young animator and movie creator David O’Reilly.

In 2012 the 38th edition of the Prize took place in Tours, one of the founding Clubs of the Prize. This year Nicolas Monmarché, a pioneering engineer in the research of informatics, was awarded by the Nobel Laureate Yves Chauvin.

In 2013, the prize celebrated its 39th birthday and Florence hosted the prize for the 6th time. In the magnificent  Salone  de’  Cinquencento,  Dr. Maria  Cristina  Acidini,  Sovrintender  of  Florentine Museum Site, awarded Nicola Salvioli for his excellent and distinguished work in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage in metal.

The edition of 2014 took place in Brussels where Prof. Hervé Hasquin, President of the Jury and Dean of Brussel University, in the prestigious Palais des Académies, awarded the historian Monique Weis, a young lady, specialized on the sixteen Century.

In 2015, London Rotary Club, the oldest Club in Europe, organized the ceremony for the 4th time. In the  splendid  venue,  the  Goldsmiths’  Hall,  one  of  London’s  hidden  treasures,  Professor  Robin Williamson,  Past  President  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Medicine,  awarded  John  Saunders,  a  young surgeon, for his pioneering research into esophageal cancer.

In the charming atmosphere of Würzburg, in 2016, the 42nd Edition of the Award was celebrated for the fourth time. In the Festival Hall of Ludwig Maximillian University, Prof Bernhard Fischenich, the  Rotary  District  Governor  awarded  the  prize  to  Stephan  Bush,  a  space  science  and  technology scientist for his innovative discoveries on satellites.

In  2017,  Madrid  welcame  the  Rotarians  in  the  Real Academia  Espanola  de  Lengua  for  the  43rd Leonardo da Vinci Award. Guillermo Garcia-Calvo, an acclaimed young director of opera, received the recognition from Antonio Mosquera, President of the Organizing Committee, for his expertise on Wagner’s  Tetralogy  and  Italian  Opera. In  Madrid,  during  the  meeting  of  the  Club  Presidents  and General Secretary, it was decided to accept as new member of Leonardo da Vinci Prize, Copenhagen Rotary Club, who presented its application during the meeting in Würzburg.

In 2018 the  Prize came back in Amsterdam for the fourth time. The Dutch  friends  organized the event in a magnificent venue, the Rijksmuseum, where the best art of the Dutch Golden Age can be admired. All the Presidents of the Rotary Clubs participating to the event awarded Boyan Slat, who invented  a  passive  clean  up  system,  making  use  of  the  oceanic  currents,  to  solve  the  problem  of plastic pollution.

In 2019,  Florence celebrates  Leonardo da Vinci  500 th death  anniversary  and the  Rotary  Club  of Florence will host the price of the 7th time in June, 7th-9th. Beside the Rotary event, the city organizes a whole year of manifestations to honor the genius, 500 years after his death.

In 2020, the Rotary Club Vienna Ring was supposed to organize the event, unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled.

In 2021, on Saturday May 29, the Rotary Club Vienna-Ring organized the award ceremony at the Palais Todeco, a magnificent building next to the Vienna Opera House, a showcase for classical music. The prize was presented to Alma Deutscher, a young piano prodigy, by Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian Parliament, himself a practicing musician and Rotarian. The Director of the Vienna State Opera, Bogdan Roščić, and the Austrian Foreign Minister, Alexander Schallenberg, warmly congratulated the recipient.

In 2022, the Rotary Club of Copenhagen organized the ceremony at Rosenborg Castle, home of the crown jewels, on 21st May. The prize winner was the talented solo dancer Silvia Servini, nominated by the artistic director of The Royal Danish Ballet, Nikolaj Hübbe. The prize was presented by H.R.H. Princess  Benedikte, honorary president of the Rotary Club of Copenhagen. At the gala dinner on the same evening, Silvia Servini and her partner Samuel Zaldivar gave a charming evidence of her dancing skills.

In 2023, in Dublin it was Dr Shane Bergin, from UCD's School of Education, who received the international Leonardo da Vinci 2023 award for inspiring public interest in science. 

In 2024, Monseigneur Jean d'Orléans, Count of Paris, presented the prize to Marie-Anita Gaube, a young painter based in Touraine. His painting joins in several aspects those of the great painters of the Renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci.