- Feb 25
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
THE 2026 IMMIGRANT TIMES SOLIDARITY PRIZE
Candidate for the 2026 Prize:
Santo Stefano del Sole, Avellino, Italy
The Immigrant Times Solidarity Prize will be awarded to a town or city, large or small, where residents have demonstrated that communities thrive when people stand by one another, whether their neighbours are newly arrived immigrants, families with roots in other parts of the world, or locals whose ties to the place go back generations.
Santo Stefano del Sole has been selected as a candidate for the 2026 Solidarity Prize. The Italian municipality has been described as a community where solidarity is expressed through small gestures rather than broad programmes. Please send us your comments if you support Santo Stefano del Sole. Please insert Santo Stefano del Sole in the subject line.
About Santo Stefano del Sole
Santo Stefano del Sole is a small municipality in the Sabato Valley, in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It has around 2,100 inhabitants and sits 547 metres above sea level, about 10 kilometres from Avellino. Its territory borders the Regional Park of the Monti Picentini, and its name, ‘of the Sun’, reflects its geographical position: when the sun has already set over the rest of the Sabato Valley, Santo Stefano is still lit by its rays.
The town's recorded history goes back to 1045, when it appears in a document held in the archive of the Church of Santa Sofia in Benevento, as a fiefdom of the County of Avellino. It became an autonomous municipality in 1525. The area retains strong agricultural traditions, and vineyards, olive groves, and hazelnut orchards mark the hillside landscape, alongside more recent activities such as mountain biking and paragliding in the surrounding mountains.
The town is perhaps best known beyond its immediate area for its Easter tradition of La Rosamarina: a popular song sung by the community, accompanied by the preparation of decorated branches adorned with oranges and lemons, distributed to families as a sign of good wishes. In 2025, the town celebrated its 500th anniversary as an autonomous municipality.
Overview of nominations for Santo Stefano del Sole
Most nominations for Santo Stefano del Sole come from residents or people closely connected to the town. Together, they describe a community that has made kindness and openness part of its everyday identity and a local administration that puts people at the centre of what it does.
In his nomination, Mayor Gerardo Santoli describes Santo Stefano del Sole as a community that has earned its reputation through consistent, practical action rather than words. He lists three awards the town has received in recent years: for kindness in 2022, for sustainability in 2024, and for being a community that smiles in 2025, and asks simply: why? His answer is a series of small but telling details.
The mayor's door is always open to everyone, including political opponents. The town celebrates weddings in the public square regardless of the background, religion, or gender of the couple. An elderly residents' club runs bowls tournaments that are open to all. Each year, the municipality recognises a local small business owner for their social contribution and for choosing to invest in a small community rather than leave. And at Easter, the town sings La Rosamarina, an ancient popular song, which is taught to all the children and carried from door to door.
Santoli concludes with a phrase that captures the spirit of the nomination: in Santo Stefano del Sole, if you meet someone at noon, they do not offer you a coffee, they invite you home for lunch.
In one of the most detailed nominations, Antonella C. describes the Community Bridges project, a collaboration between the municipality and two social cooperatives, INTRA and HIRPINIA. The project focuses on social inclusion and active participation, offering educational workshops, Italian language lessons, and activities to prevent school dropout and combat bullying. It is due to run until the end of 2026. Francesco F. adds another dimension, describing the Festival delle Radici, a celebration organised as part of the town's 500th anniversary, designed to reconnect Santo Stefano with its emigrants who, over the years, were forced to leave in search of work elsewhere. The festival, he writes, was not simply a celebration but a moment of reflection on roots, identity, and belonging.
Two nominations draw particular attention to the town's welcome of children from different backgrounds. De Luca Vincenzo writes about three children described as speciali, children with disabilities, who are treated by the whole town as if they were everyone's own, celebrated each year at a dedicated festa dei supereroi (superheroes party). He also notes that each year the mayor recognises a local small business owner for their social contribution and for choosing to remain and invest in a small community. Lepore A. focuses on social services: an attentive system that includes daily home visits for elderly residents living alone, an ambulance service, support for food and utility bills, and a 24-hour helpline.
The general tone of nominations for Santo Stefano is one of understated intimacy, the portrait of a small community where solidarity is expressed through small gestures rather than broad programmes. As De Mita G. puts it, this is a town that "knows how to be a family, that leaves no one behind, and that builds, with simple and authentic gestures, the profound meaning of living together."
Individual nominations
(Please note: If you have already nominated Santo Stefano del Sole, there is no need to do so again. Your nomination has been registered. If you have not yet nominated Santo Stefano del Sole, you may do so until mid-summer. How to nominate.)
Nominated by Antonella, C., Santo Stefano del Sole
The Municipality of Santo Stefano del Sole, in collaboration with the social cooperatives INTRA and HIRPINIA, officially launches the "COMMUNITY BRIDGES" project. The initiative aims to promote social inclusion, active participation, and solidarity through concrete actions to support families and foreign citizens living in the municipality.
Educational workshops, Italian language lessons, and activities dedicated to preventing school dropouts, combating bullying, and fighting educational poverty are planned. An important step towards building community bridges, welcoming, and shared growth. The project will continue until December 2026.
Nominated by Francesco F., Santo Stefano del Sole
This year, Santo Stefano del Sole celebrated an extraordinary milestone: its 500th anniversary. This significant anniversary was not only a time of celebration, but also an opportunity to reflect on its roots and identity.Among the most significant initiatives, the Festival delle Radici played a central role. This event was born to strengthen the deep bond between the local community and Santo Stefano del Sole's emigrants, forced in the past to leave the town in search of new opportunities.
Nominated by Stefania R., Santo Stefano del Sole
Sicuramente la comunità di Santo Stefano del Sole merita questo premio. Una comunità fatta di cittadini che hanno messo al primo posto la gentilezza, il sorriso e l'accoglienza. La porta del sindaco è sempre aperta sia quando si parla di problematiche sociali sia quando si parla di altre scelte politiche. Non c'è bisogno di bussare, la porta è già aperta. per tutti anche per l'avversario più acerrimo.
Nominated by De Mita G., Santo Stefano del Sole
The community of Santo Stefano del Sole, a living example of solidarity, cohesion, and civic commitment. For their ability to unite in times of difficulty and daily challenges, demonstrating an extraordinary spirit of participation, hospitality, and care for the most vulnerable. A recognition of the human and collective value of a town that knows how to be a family, that leaves no one behind, and that daily builds, with simple and authentic gestures, the profound meaning of living together.
Nominated by Lepore A., Santa Stefano del Sole
I servizi sociali del comune con l'assessore delegato seguono ogni caso con amore e attenzione. In un piccolo paese sono tante le persone fragili, soprattutto tanti anziani che spesso vivono soli perché hanno i figli lontano per lavoro. Per ogni persona bisognosa vi è l'assistenza necessaria, si parte dal Assistenza attraverso il sistema SALVAVITA, dalla presenza quotidiana di una persona che ogni giorno va a trovare la persona anziana e provvede alle faccende domestiche, ma vi è anche un servizio Ambulanza, oltre che un bonus alimentare, bonus bollette e un numero verde 24h su 24h a cui poter chiamare in caso di necessità.
Nominated by De Luca Vincenzo, Santo Stefano del Sole
Santo Stefano del Sole è un piccolo paese di poco piu' di 2000 abitanti, ma è soprattutto una grande comunità che ha saputo integrare cittadini provenienti da ogni parte del mondo dalla Cina al Brasile. Nella scuola di Santo Stefano ci sono tre bambini speciali che tutto il Paese tratta come propri figli a cui è stato dedicata una festa chiamata festa dei super eroi. Ogni anno poi viene Premiato dal sindaco Gerardo Santoli un piccolo imprenditore del posto per la funzione sociale che svolge ogni giorno e per aver deciso di aprire la propria attività in un piccolo centro.
Nominated by Gerardo Santoli., Mayor of Santo Stefano del Sole
Reasons for my nomination:
Santo Stefano del Sole ha ricevuto il premio Paese della Gentilezza (anno 2022) , il premio Paese Sostenibile (anno 2024) e il premio Paese del Sorriso (anno 2025).
• Perchè tutti questi premi?
• Perchèin paese c'è sempre qualcuno che ti accoglie con un sorriso.
• Perchè la porta del sindaco è sempre aperta,
• perchè c'è una comunità che celebra i matrimoni in piazza chiunque siano gli sposi senza guardare provenienza, religione o sesso.
• Perchè questa comunità ha fatto dell'accoglienza la sua forza.
• Perchè ha difeso la sua scuola quando rischiava di essere chiusa.
• Perchè c'è un circolo di anziani che organizza tornei di bocce a cui partecipano tutti.
• Perchè c'è un canto popolare " la rosamarina pasquale" che viene insegnato a tutti I piccoli e ogni anno a Pasqua viene portato in tutte le case.
Santo Stefano del Sole merita questo premio perchè fa della solidarietà il suo modo di vivere, se conosci una persona a mezzogiorno non ti offre il caffè ti invita a pranzo a casa sua.
Please send us your comments if you support Santo Stefano del Sole. Please insert Santo Stefano del Sole in the subject line.
Candidates for the 2026 Solidarity Prize
Confirmed candidates, as of April 2026: Zwolle, Overijssel, Netherlands || Oliveri, Sicily, Italy || Legazpi, Basque Country, Spain || Northallerton, Yorkshire, UK || Graz, Styria, Austria || Val-de-Reuil, Normandy, France || Montpellier, France || Santo Stefano del Sole, Avellino, Italy || Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany || Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ||
Please nominate further towns and cities. The list of candidates will be updated regularly.
Further reading from The Immigrant Times: Introduction to the Solidarity Prize || Nominees from North America. || Nominess from Europe ||
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