International awards are comparatively rare in the humanities.
The prize pertains to a group of related disciplines such as archaeology, comparative religion, cultural anthropology, ethnohistory, ethnology, ethnomusicology and folkloristics. Local studies on folklife and folkpoetry have expanded toward studies on distant foreign cultures and modern ethnic groupings in urban multicultural contexts. The Sigillo d'Oro is awarded for outstanding life-long scholarly work. The recipient is invited to give a public lecture at the University of Palermo. The reference to the Nobel Prize implies honour, not money, but the heavy medal is pure gold.