On June 8 at the Temple of Vibia Sabina and Hadrian in Rome, the awards ceremony of the first edition of the literary prize "The Literature of Roots" established by Italian in Italy will be held. Speech and storytelling - once oral and later written - are the tools through which cultural heritage and identity are handed down from one generation to the next. The concept of roots is not only about migration processes but, in a broader and more pregnant sense, considers reflection on who we are in relation to places and belonging to communities that develop shared practices. "We wanted to establish this prize," explains Pina Foti, "to emphasize the importance that the Italian language has in the daily enhancement of our culture in the world. We chose biographies, essays and studies that tell about different places, paths of rootedness from one region of Italy to another, and migrations abroad."