ROME, June 21. /TASS/. TASS correspondent in Italy Alexei Bukalow received the International Pushkin Award for literature in Rome for a series of literary works devoted to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin’s visits to Italy.

The award ceremony took place on the Capitoline Hill and was attended by Rome mayor Virginia Raggi.

Russian artist Natalya Tsarkova, known for a series of portraits of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox spiritual leaders, won the International Pushkin Award for art. The International Pushkin Award for research went to Italian researcher Alessandra Carbone.

The International Pushkin Award, to be announced every two years, was established in 2014 by the Italy-based cultural association "Amici della Grande Russia" (Friends of Grand Russia) and is intended to encourage achievements in art, literature and research, at the same time accentuating the close relationship between the Russian and Italian cultures.

The first award went to Italian poetess Antonella Anedda in 2014.