“M’illumino d’immenso, International award for the best translation of Italian poetry into Spanish” was conceived in 2018 to promote the translation of Italian language poetry, both from Italy and from Switzerland, within the Spanish speaking countries. The award is organised by poets Fabio Morabito (Mexico) and Vanni Bianconi (Switzerland), together with translator Barbara Bertoni (Italy), with the support of the Italian Institute of Culture of Ciudad de México, the Swiss Embassy in Mexico and Biblioteche di Roma.

The 2020 contest featured the works of 183 translators from 21 different countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, USA, and Venezuela. The jury composed of poets Fabio Morabito and Hernán Bravo Varela, and Italian translator Barbara Bertoni has awarded the prize to Teresa Lanero Ladrón de Guevara (Spain), with an honorable mention given to Jorge Yglesias García (Cuba).

This year the Italian Cultural Institute of Cairo, the Swiss Embassy in Egypt, the Luxor University, the Luxor Poetry House, the Traduxit Laboratory have organized the first edition for Arabic-speaking countries of “M’illumino / d’immenso”. The initiative grew from the desire to promote the translation and diffusion of Italian and Swiss-Italian poetry in the Arabic-speaking world. Among the novelties of the Egyptian edition is the creation of a special prize for young translators who have not yet turned 26, in consideration of the presence of the numerous students of the Italian language in Egypt who cultivate a passion for Italian literature.

The jury, composed of Prof. Rabie Salama, Professor of Italian Literature and Dean of the Faculty of Languages of the University of Luxor, Prof. Wafa Abdel-Rauf, Professor of Italian Literature and Director of the Italian Department of the University of Helwan and Dr. Husein Alkobahi, Director of the Poetry House in Luxor, evaluated the translations of fifty competitors and proclaimed the winner of the first edition of “M’illumino d’immenso – Arabic” Abdelrazek Fawky Eid. The special young translator prize was awarded to Fatmaelzahraa Emad Hanafi Abdou Abdalla.