The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's David, a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance,[1] are film awards given out each year by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (the Academy of Italian Cinema).

[3] The David di Donatello film awards were founded in 1955 by the founding president of AGIS (Italian General Association for Show Business), businessman Italo Gemini, in order to honour the best of each year's Italian and foreign films.

[3] Similar prizes had already existed in Italy for about a decade, such as the Nastro d'Argento, but these were voted on by film critics and journalists.

The Donatellos are awarded by people within the film industry, including actors, producers, directors, screenwriters, and technicians.

[8] As of 2020, with seven awards each, Margherita Buy, Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, and Sophia Loren are the actors who have won the most Davids.