Assembled together in Oviedo, the 1997 Prince of Asturias Award Jury for the Arts, comprised of José Luis Álvarez, María de Ávila, Emilio Casares, Nuria Espert, Luis García Berlanga, Manuel Martín Ferrand, Pilar Miró, Alfonso Pérez Sánchez, Rosa Regás, Emilio Sagi, Rodrigo Uría Meruéndano, Amelia Valcárcel, presided over by José Lladó and with José Antonio Caicoya Cores acting as secretary, has decided, by a majority, to grant the 1997 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts to Vittorio Gassmann, in recognition of his forceful creative talent that has enlightened, in difficult times, the lives of various generations of Europeans. Regarding the theater and the cinema, Gassmann is a consummate interpretational model casted in the molds of talent.

Oviedo, 18 April 1997