Maurizio Prato, Professor Emeritus at the University of Trieste and National Member of the Accademia dei Lincei, has been appointed Honorary Member of the Gioenia Academy of Catania.

The Gioenia Academy was founded in 1824 by Knight Cesare Borgia (1776-1837) together with ten intellectuals and scientists from Catania, with the aim of promoting the study of natural phenomena and contributing to scientific progress. The academy, named after the Catanese naturalist Giuseppe Gioeni d'Angiò, who passed away in 1822, became part of UNESCO's "Reseau des Académies des Pays Mediterranéens" in 1997.