Lazio between Europe and the Mediterranean is a cultural festival held annually in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Lazio, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The first edition of the festival is held between September 21 and October 14, 2006.

According to "Lazio Culture council" the purpose of the festival is to promote dialogue and communication exchange between Mediterranean countries and cultures. The festival is organized under the petronage of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano

Giorgio Napolitano

Giorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...

 and with the participation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Foreign relations of Italy

Since its unification in 1861, Italy has been one of the most important and influential European countries. Its major allies are the United States, the other NATO countries , and the European Union...

.

Awards

The 2006 special prize

Prize

A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...

 for "peace and friendship between peoples" was awarded to Moroccan

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 francophone author Tahar Ben Jelloun

Tahar Ben Jelloun

Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan poet and writer. The entirety of his work is written in French, although his first language is Arabic.-Life:...

.