Bagnara Calabra awards honorary citizenship to writer Stefania Auci

Bagnara Calabra awards honorary citizenship to writer Stefania Auci

On 31 March 2026 the municipal chamber of Bagnara Calabra hosted the ceremony to grant honorary citizenship to Stefania Auci, author of the Florio saga and the recent novel L'alba dei Leoni, which locates the origins of one of Italy's notable entrepreneurial families in Bagnara.

The initiative, promoted by the Rotary Club Scilla Costa Viola, was presented by local authorities and academics as a cultural recognition: promoting local storytelling as a tool to strengthen community identity and to engage younger generations with their heritage.

Professor Mariangela Monaca (University of Messina) delivered an address highlighting how Auci's writing reconnects historical memory and local imagination — from the Pietraliscia district to the ducal palace of the Ruffo family and the 1783 earthquake — turning fiction into a contribution to shared history.

During the municipal council session the mayor and the cultural councillor emphasized the symbolic value of the event. The official citation was read and warmly received by associations and residents; the author expressed emotion and said she felt "at home" in Bagnara.

• Date: 31 March 2026
• Place: Municipal chamber, Bagnara Calabra
• Promoter: Rotary Club Scilla Costa Viola
• Reason: recognition for a literary work that highlighted local history and identity

Organizers described the ceremony as a constructive example of cooperation between institutions, civic associations and cultural actors, underlining how recovering and telling local stories can be a forward-looking investment for the territory.