Capo d'Orlando International Prize
The international scientific award of Vico Equense, held at Castello Giusso
About Capo d'Orlando Prize
A scientific award overlooking the gulf
The Capo d'Orlando International Prize was established in 1999 in Vico Equense, in the province of Naples, at the initiative of Umberto Celentano, director of the Museo Mineralogico Campano – Fondazione Discepolo. Since then, every spring, this Sorrento Peninsula town transforms for an evening into a small laboratory of ideas: Nobel laureates, astrophysicists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and communicators gather at Castello Giusso to share their work with an audience primarily composed of young people.
In nearly thirty years of history, the Prize has brought twenty-one Nobel laureates to Campania—including John F. Nash, James Watson, and André Geim—a rare achievement for an event promoted by a local museum rather than a major research center. This is its hallmark: bringing frontier science to a seaside town, without intermediaries or formalities.
The six award categories
The recognition is not limited to pure research but spans all the ways scientific knowledge intersects with daily life. The categories awarded each year are:
- Science — basic research and major discoveries, often honoring a Nobel laureate;
- Popularization — those who excel at communicating science to the general public;
- Science and Industry — technology transfer and innovative enterprise;
- Cultural Management — those who design and direct cultural institutions and programs;
- Multimedia Communication — media, branding, and digital languages;
- Science and Nutrition — nutrition, health, and food culture.
The ceremony at Castello Giusso
The awards ceremony takes place in a single evening, typically on a Thursday in May at 6:00 PM, within the halls of Castello Giusso. It is not merely a parade of plaques: each recipient delivers a lecture on their field of work, effectively turning the ceremony into a concentrated cycle of conferences. The presidency is entrusted to the rector of the University of Naples Federico II, Matteo Lorito, while the coordination is handled each year by a prominent science journalist.
The Museo Mineralogico Campano, the heart of the initiative
Behind the Prize is the Museo Mineralogico Campano, inaugurated in 1992 by the Fondazione Discepolo on Via San Ciro: it houses over five thousand minerals belonging to more than fourteen hundred species, fossils from the Sorrento Peninsula, and sections dedicated to Campanian geology. In recent years, the museum has complemented its traditional displays with augmented reality tours created with students from the Liceo Publio Virgilio Marone, including seismic simulations related to the Phlegraean Fields.
A prize designed for the youth
On the morning of the ceremony, the awardees—including Nobel laureates—visit the museum accompanied by students from the language high school, who act as guides in English. It is the most informal and perhaps most valuable moment of the event: for many local students, it is the first opportunity to speak directly with those who have changed their field of research.
Vico Equense and the May of Culture
The Prize effectively kicks off the May of Culture, the program that the Municipality of Vico Equense dedicates to the entire month: book presentations, piano concerts in the Church of the Annunziata, photography exhibitions in the town hall atrium, book exchanges in Piazza Marconi, guided tours of the historic center and the village of Massaquano, the European Night of Museums, and the Provolone del Monaco festival. Visitors arriving for the scientific evening will find a city in full cultural ferment.
Patronage and support
The event is promoted by the Museo Mineralogico Campano – Fondazione Discepolo with the support of the University of Naples Federico II, the CNR, the UGIS (Italian Union of Scientific Journalists), the Regione Campania, and the City of Vico Equense: a system of alliances that has allowed the Prize to grow into one of the longest-running scientific events in Southern Italy.
Capo d'Orlando Prize — edition 2026
From the Universe to Naples
The 2026 edition of the Capo d'Orlando International Prize, the twenty-eighth, was held on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the halls of Castello Giusso in Vico Equense. The theme chosen by the Museo Mineralogico Campano – Fondazione Discepolo bridged astronomy and local history, in a dialogue between research on extrasolar planets and the 2,500 years of Neapolis.
The ceremony was presided over by Matteo Lorito, rector of the University of Naples Federico II, and coordinated by Paola Catapano, a science journalist from CERN in Geneva. As every year, the program was not limited to the award ceremony: each winner delivered a lecture on their field of work, from the hunt for exoplanets to brand communication, and from aeronautical logistics to nutrition.
In the morning, at 10:30 AM, Nobel laureate Michel Mayor visited the Museo Mineralogico Campano with his wife, welcomed and guided by students from the language high school of the Liceo Publio Virgilio Marone in Metà.
The event took place with the patronage and support of the University of Naples Federico II, CNR, UGIS, the Campania Region, and the City of Vico Equense, as part of the municipality's 2026 May of Culture program.
Programme Capo d'Orlando Prize 2026
Thursday, May 7, 2026
- 10:30 AM — Museo Mineralogico Campano: Visit by Nobel laureate Michel Mayor and his wife, accompanied by students from the language high school of the Liceo Publio Virgilio Marone of Metà, who acted as guides in English.
- 6:00 PM — Castello Giusso: Ceremony of the 28th Capo d'Orlando International Prize, presided over by Matteo Lorito, rector of the University of Naples Federico II, and coordinated by Paola Catapano (CERN, Geneva).
- Following the ceremony, lectures and speeches by the winners on the edition's theme, "From the Universe to Naples and back."
2026 Winners
- Science: Michel Mayor, 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics, discoverer of 51 Pegasi b, the first planet identified outside the solar system.
- Popularization: Mariafelicia De Laurentis, astrophysicist, one of the key members of the group that captured the first image of a black hole.
- Science and Industry: Fulvio Scannapieco, Knight of Labor, founder and president of the ALA group, specializing in aeronautical component distribution and integrated logistics.
- Cultural Management: Laura Valente, journalist and cultural manager, artistic director of the celebrations for the 2,500 years of Naples.
- Multimedia Communication: Valentina De Laurentiis, manager and creative director, responsible for brand strategy and merchandising for SSC Napoli.
- Science and Nutrition: Mauro Mario Mariani, angiologist and nutritionist, university professor.
Highlights Capo d'Orlando Prize 2026
- Michel Mayor, 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics, guest of honor at the evening at Castello Giusso.
- The edition's theme: "From the Universe to Naples and back," in the year of the 2,500th anniversary of Neapolis.
- Mariafelicia De Laurentis and the story behind the first photograph of a black hole.
- The morning visit to the Museo Mineralogico Campano guided by students from the Liceo Publio Virgilio Marone.
- Coordination by Paola Catapano, science journalist at CERN.
Prices Capo d'Orlando Prize 2026
Practical information — Capo d'Orlando Prize
How to get there
Vico Equense can be reached by train via the Circumvesuviana line (Naples–Sorrento route; get off at Vico Equense, then a short walk uphill to the historic center). By car: take the A3 Naples–Salerno motorway, exit at Castellammare di Stabia, then follow the SS145 Sorrentina. During peak days, it is advisable to leave your car in the paid parking lots in the center, as the streets around Castello Giusso are narrow and largely restricted to traffic.
Venue
Castello Giusso dominates the historic center of Vico Equense, just a few steps from Piazza Umberto I and the viewpoint overlooking the Gulf of Naples.
Admission and information
The ceremony does not have an online ticketing system. For information on access, available seating, and the updated program, contact: Museo Mineralogico Campano – Fondazione Discepolo, Via San Ciro, 80069 Vico Equense (NA), tel. +39 081 8015668, [email protected], or visit the website www.premiocapodorlando.it.
Tips
The evening lasts about two hours and is held indoors. It is worth arriving in the afternoon to visit the museum and the historic center, and staying for dinner at one of the pizzerias in Vico Equense, where the tradition of "pizza by the meter" was born.
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Where does it take place — Capo d'Orlando Prize
Castello Giusso