A ceremony was held on 9 September at the Hotel Athena in Siena, Tuscany Italy to recognize and award Italian translator and author Prof. Dott. Vasco Caini for having produced eight books translating the complete set of works of Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal into Italian.
Prof. Dott. Caini received the Medal of Recognition of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, the Philippines’ sole Order of Knighthood chartered under Philippine legislation to uphold the ideals of the country’s national hero.
His works based on his own translations include two editions of Noli Me Tangere, Il Filibusterismo, Diari e Memorie, Scritti Politici e Storici, Scritti Vari, Opere Letterarie, Lettere aI familiari, Lettere ad altri, and released this year, Lettere a Blumentritt, lettere ai colleghi della Propaganda. Prof. Caini’s first published work on Rizal was his translation to Italian of Noli me tangere, which was published in 2003. Books were continued to be published until present. He also hosts and maintains the website www.rizal.it which serves as the primary source of information about Jose Rizal in Italian.
Speaking about the award, Order of the Knights of Rizal – Firenze Chapter Commander Sir Dennis Reyes said, “Counting among them first edition translations into Italian of Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, Prof. Caini’s works are of national historical significance for the Philippines. Most translations into major languages have been done in the early 1900s, but we are fortunate today that we were able to honour someone so deserving.”
The works are expected to be a bridge between better people-to-people understanding between Filipinos and Italians and sets the foundation for future study of Dr. Rizal’s works in Italy.
As part of the ceremony, several Filipinos and Italians have also been honoured alongside Prof. Caini.
Those interested in acquiring copies of Prof. Caini’s works can find them on Amazon.it or ilmiolibro.kataweb.it. For more information on the Knights of Rizal, you can follow the chapter on their official account: fb.com/kor.firenze
