19th Aldo Villa Award goes to Giovanni Savorani

The Jury of the International Aldo Villa Award, consisting of Confindustria Chairman Emanuele Orsini, ACIMAC Chairman Paolo Lamberti, the Rector of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Prof. Carlo Adolfo Porro, SACMI Chairman Paolo Mongardi and Italian Ceramic Society Chairwoman Prof. Cristina Siligardi, has announced that the recipient of the 19th edition of the prestigious award is Giovanni Savorani, Chairman and founder of Gigacer and former Chairman of Confindustria Ceramica. 

The award ceremony will be held during CERSAIE, at the Auditorium in the Services Centre - The Square, on Tuesday 24 September at 5 p.m. 

Giovanni Savorani has been chosen as the recipient of the award due to his commitment and dedication to promoting technological innovation and the environmental and social sustainability of the Italian ceramic industry during a particularly challenging period marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the halting of Ukrainian clay exports, the energy crisis caused by soaring natural gas prices, and the economic slowdown in many markets around the world. 
The award, organised by the Italian Ceramic Society, is presented to distinguished figures for outstanding contributions and achievements in the field of ceramics. The criteria that guide the jury in their choice include managerial or entrepreneurial excellence, a constant focus on product innovation and the promotion of Italian tiles at a time of increasingly strong international competition. 

The International Aldo Villa Award was set up in 1988 to commemorate Italian Ceramic Society’s first chairman and the extraordinary contribution he made in transforming what was originally a small mechanical workshop in Imola into the world’s foremost producer of technology and services for the ceramic industry, Sacmi.

Previous years’ recipients are: 
1989 Adriano Bosetti
1991 Alex Muller Georg Bednorz
1993 Romano Minozzi
1995 Philip Rosenthal
1997 Leopoldo Cini
1999 José Soriano Ramos
2001 Vittoriano Bitossi
2003 Filippo Marazzi
2005 Carlo Palmonari
2007 Ibrahim Bodur
2009 Michael P. Johnson
2011 Franco Stefani
2013 Giovanni Aliprandi
2014 Franco Manfredini
2016 Mario Rossi
2018 Mariano Paganelli
2018 Giorgio Squinzi
2022 Maurizio Cavagnari
“We are enormously proud to present the International Aldo Villa Award to Giovanni Savorani,” said Prof. Cristina Siligardi, chairwoman of the Italian Ceramic Society. “His extraordinary dedication and outstanding achievements are an inspiration to us all.”