Italy's Alessio Figalli has been awarded the Fields Medal, which is the world's top award for mathematics and is considered a sort of Nobel Prize for the discipline. "This prize gives me so much joy," Figalli told ANSA after the announcement at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Rio de Janeiro.

"It is such a big thing that I'm struggling to believe that I have received it". Born in Rome 34 years ago, Figalli studied at Pisa's Scuola Normale and he has been a lecturer at Zurich Polytechnic since 2016. He is the second Italian to win the prize and the first in 44 years. "It is a great stimulus for the future," Figalli said.