The town of Canino awarded the fourth Luciano Bonaparte Prize at a ceremony held Saturday 4 October, 2008, at the cinema ‘Pianeta'. The joint-winners of the prize were Angelica Zucconi for her biography of Napoleona, daughter of Elisa Bonaparte, Napoleona: l'avventurosa storia di una nipote dell'Imperatore (Viella 2008), and Peter Hicks and Emilie Barthet for their edition of Napoleon's novel, Clisson et Eugénie (Fayard 2007).
The Canino literary prize was created by the commune of Canino with the aim of celebrating the important links between the town and Napoleon's younger brother, Lucian, most notably in terms of his role as ‘seigneur' of the town region and as keen archaeologist of Etruscan remains. And Mayoress, Lina Novelli, is keen to strengthen links with other players on the Napoleonic network.
Angelica Zucconi is librarian at La Sapienza University in Rome and specialist on the Napoleonids. She recently took part in the Fondation Napoléon grand conference on Napoleon III where she spoke about Louis-Napoleon's involvement in the attempted Roman coup d'état of 1830. Her excellent and detailed biography of Napoleona Elisa Bacciochi is a welcome addition to the field. Of all the women in the House of Bonaparte – for most part authoritarian, intelligent and active ladies – Napoleona was certainly one of the strongest and most eccentric. Zucconi's study reveals the complexity and ambivalence of her character, as she oscillated between arrogance and insecurity, energy and inability to complete anything, but nevertheless remaining faithful to her family and to what she perceived as her destiny.
Peter Hicks is a historian and chargé des affaires internationales at the Fondation Napoléon. Emilie was manager of the Fondation Napoléon's grand project to publish the complete correspondence of Napoleon I (post currently held by François Houdecek): she is currently conservateur in the documentation department at Paris Université Descartes. Their joint publication of Napoleon's novel is the most complete ever – it includes a complete revision of previous transcriptions, the definitive opening to the novel (never before published), a postface by 19th-century literature specialist, Gérard Gengembre, a critique of the novel, a history of the manuscripts and an appendix textual variants.
Previous winners of the Literary Prize, Luciano Bonaparte, Principe di Canino, were Prof. Casanova Antonio Glauco and H.E. Antonello Pietromarchi (2005), Prof. Massimo Colesanti, Prof. Luigi Mascilli Migliorini, and Prof. Jérôme Picon (2006), dott.ssa Giulia Gorgone, Mr Jacques Palombo for Dominique de Villepin, Ms Dagmar Spolniak, and Prince Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte-Wyse (2007).
To close the ceremony, Peter Hicks performed a concert of vocal and piano music from the First Empire period (works by Queen Hortense, Viguerie, Paisiello, Schumann, Beethoven, and Méhul).