The Strega Prize ( it, Premio Strega ) is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction written in the Italian language by an author of any nationality and first published between 1 May of the previous year and 30 April.

History

In 1944 Maria and Goffredo Bellonci started to host a literary salon at their home in Rome. These Sunday gatherings of writers, artists and intellectuals grew to include many of the most notable figures of Italian cultural life. The group became known as the ''Amici della Domenica'', or ‘Sunday Friends’. In 1947 the Belloncis, together with Guido Alberti, owner of the firm which produces the

Strega Strega, the Italian word for ''witch'', may refer to: *Strega, a group of pagan magic users who are part of the protectors of Venice in the Heirs of Alexandria series by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer *Stregheria, or the Strega traditi ...

liqueur, decided to inaugurate a prize for fiction, the winner being chosen by the Sunday friends. The activities of the Bellonci circle and the institution of the prize were seen as marking a tentative return to ‘normality’ in Italian cultural life: a feature of the reconstruction which followed the years of Fascism, war, occupation and liberation. The first winner of the Strega, elected by the Sunday Friends, was Ennio Flaiano, for his first and only novel ''Tempo di uccidere'', which is set in Africa during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. It has been translated into English as ''The Short Cut''. Maria Bellonci published a history of the Strega prize, titled ''Come un racconto gli anni del premio Strega'', in 1971.

Selection process

Since the death of Maria Bellonci in 1986, the prize has been administered by the ''Fondazione Maria e Goffredo Bellonci''. The members of the now 400-strong prize jury, drawn from Italy’s cultural elite, are still known as the Sunday Friends. For a book to be considered it must have the support of at least two Friends. This initial long list is whittled down at a first ballot to a short list of five. The second round of voting, followed by the proclamation of the victor, takes place on the first Thursday in July in the nymphaeum of the Villa Giulia, Rome.

Sponsorship

Telecom Italia have joined Liquore Strega as sponsors of the prize.

Premio Strega speciale, 2006

In 2006, the seventieth year of the Strega Prize, a special award was made to the Constitution of Italy, a document which was drawn up and approved during 1946, the year of the Strega’s birth. The award was received by former President of the Italian Republic Oscar Luigi Scalfaro.

Winners

*1947 – Ennio Flaiano, ''Tempo di uccidere'' *1948 –

Vincenzo Cardarelli Vincenzo Cardarelli, pseudonym of Nazareno Caldarelli (1 May 1887 – 18 June 1959) was an Italian poet and journalist. Cardarelli was born in Corneto, Lazio, in a family of Marche origin. His father was Antonio Romagnoli. His studies were irr ...

, ''Villa Tarantola'' *1949 – Giambattista Angioletti, ''La memoria'' *1950 – Cesare Pavese, ''La bella estate'' *1951 – Corrado Alvaro, ''Quasi una vita'' *1952 – Alberto Moravia, ''I racconti'' *1953 –

Massimo Bontempelli Massimo Bontempelli (12 May 1878 – 21 July 1960) was an Italian poet, playwright, novelist and composer. He was influential in developing and promoting the literary style known as magical realism. Life Massimo Bontempelli was born in Como ...

, ''L'amante fedele'' *1954 – Mario Soldati, ''Lettere da Capri'' *1955 –

Giovanni Comisso Giovanni Comisso (3 October 1895 – 21 January 1969) was an important Italian writer of the twentieth century, appreciated by Eugenio Montale, Umberto Saba, Gianfranco Contini and many others. Life Comisso was born in Treviso, where, during ...

, ''Un gatto attraversa la strada'' *1956 – Giorgio Bassani, ''Cinque storie ferraresi'' *1957 –

Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 191225 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel ''La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. Life and ...

, '' L'isola di Arturo'' *1958 – Dino Buzzati, ''

Sessanta racconti ''Sessanta racconti'' ("sixty stories") is a 1958 short story collection by the Italian writer Dino Buzzati. The first 36 stories had been published previously, while the rest were new. Subjects covered include the horror and surreality of life in ...

'' *1959 – Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, '' Il gattopardo'' *1960 – Carlo Cassola, '' La ragazza di Bube'' *1961 –

Raffaele La Capria Raffaele La Capria (3 October 1922 – 26 June 2022) was an Italian novelist and screenwriter. His second novel, ''The Mortal Wound'' (''Ferito a morte''), won Italy's most prestigious award, the Strega Prize, and is today considered a classi ...

, ''Ferito a morte'' *1962 – Mario Tobino, ''Il clandestino'' *1963 – Natalia Ginzburg, '' Lessico famigliare'' *1964 –

Giovanni Arpino Giovanni Arpino (27 January 1927 – 10 December 1987) was an List of Italian writers, Italian writer and journalist. Life Born in Pula-Croatia to Piedmontese parents, Arpino moved to Bra (CN), Bra in the Province of Cuneo. Here he married Cater ...

, ''L'ombra delle colline'' *1965 –

Paolo Volponi Paolo Volponi (6 February 1924, in Urbino, – 23 August 1994, in Ancona) was an Italian writer, poet, and politician. Biography Volpino was born February 6, 1924, in Urbino, Italy. He would join the Italian partisans in 1943. He studied ...

, '' La macchina mondiale'' *1966 –

Michele Prisco Michele Prisco (18 January 1920 – 19 November 2003) was an Italian journalist, critic, and novelist. Prisco was born and educated in Torre Annunziata. His family provided the middle-class background central to many of his books. He studied l ...

, ''Una spirale di nebbia'' *1967 – Anna Maria Ortese, ''Poveri e semplici'' *1968 – Alberto Bevilacqua, ''L'occhio del gatto'' *1969 –

Lalla Romano Graziella "Lalla" Romano (11 November 1906 in Demonte – 26 June 2001 in Milan) was an Italian novelist, poet, artist and journalist. Life and work Romano was born as Graziella Romano in Demonte in 1906 from a noteworthy Piedmontese fa ...

, ''Le parole tra noi leggere'' *1970 – Guido Piovene, ''Le stelle fredde'' *1971 –

Raffaello Brignetti Raffaello Brignetti (born Isola del Giglio, 21 September 1921 - died Rome, 7 February 1978) was an Italian writer. He grew up on the island of Elba where his father was a lighthouse keeper. He moved to Rome in the middle of the Second World War, a ...

, ''La spiaggia d'oro'' *1972 – Giuseppe Dessì, ''Paese d'ombre'' *1973 –

Manlio Cancogni Manlio is a given name. Notable people with the given name include: *Manlio Argueta (born 1935), Salvadoran writer, critic and novelist *Manlio Bacigalupo (1908–1977), Italian football player and manager *Manlio De Angelis (1935–2017), Italian ...

, ''Allegri, gioventù'' *1974 – Guglielmo Petroni, ''La morte del fiume'' *1975 – Tommaso Landolfi, ''A caso'' *1976 – Fausta Cialente, ''Le quattro ragazze Wieselberger'' *1977 – Fulvio Tomizza, ''La miglior vita'' *1978 – Ferdinando Camon, ''Un altare per la madre'' *1979 –

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was an Italian chemist, partisan, writer, and Jewish Holocaust survivor. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works ...

, ''La chiave a stella'' *1980 –

Vittorio Gorresio Vittorio Gorresio (18 July 1910 – 17 December 1982) was an Italian Journalist-commentator and essayist. After he died, an admirer commended the complete originality of his approach. He was a political reporter who wanted to offer readers some ...

, ''La vita ingenua'' *1981 – Umberto Eco, ''Il nome della rosa'' *1982 – Goffredo Parise, ''Il sillabario n.2'' *1983 –

Mario Pomilio is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

, ''Il Natale del 1833'' *1984 –

Pietro Citati Pietro Citati (20 February 1930 – 28 July 2022) was an Italian writer and literary critic. He was born in Florence. He wrote critical biographies of Goethe, Alexander the Great, Kafka and Marcel Proust as well as a short memoir on his thirty-ye ...

, ''Tolstoj'' *1985 –

Carlo Sgorlon Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

, ''L'armata dei fiumi perduti'' *1986 – Maria Bellonci, '' Rinascimento privato'' *1987 –

Stanislao Nievo Stanislao Nievo (born 30 June 1928 in Milan, died in 2006 in Roma) was an Italian writer, journalist and director. He won the Strega Prize. He was the great grandson of Ippolito Nievo,Gesualdo Bufalino, ''Le menzogne della notte '' *1989 – Giuseppe Pontiggia, ''La grande sera '' *1990 – Sebastiano Vassalli, ''La chimera'' *1991 –

, ''La strada per Roma'' *1992 – Vincenzo Consolo, ''Nottetempo, ''casa per casa'' *1993 – Domenico Rea, ''Ninfa plebea'' *1994 –

Giorgio Montefoschi Giorgio may refer to: * Castel Giorgio, ''comune'' in Umbria, Italy * Giorgio (name), an Italian given name and surname * Giorgio Moroder, or Giorgio, Italian record producer ** ''Giorgio'' (album), an album by Giorgio Moroder * "Giorgio" (song), ...

, ''La casa del padre'' *1995 – Mariateresa Di Lascia, ''Passaggio in ombra'' *1996 –

Alessandro Barbero Alessandro Barbero (born April 30, 1959) is an Italian historian, novelist and essayist. Barbero was born in Turin. He attended the University of Turin, where he studied literature and Medieval history. He won the 1996 Strega Prize, Italy's ...

, ''Bella vita e guerre altrui di Mr. Pyle, 'gentiluomo *1997 – Claudio Magris, ''Microcosmi '' *1998 – Enzo Siciliano, ''I bei momenti '' *1999 – Dacia Maraini, ''Buio '' *2000 – Ernesto Ferrero, ''N. '' *2001 – Domenico Starnone, ''Via Gemito '' *2002 – Margaret Mazzantini, ''Non ti muovere '' *2003 – Melania Mazzucco, ''Vita'' *2004 –

Ugo Riccarelli Ugo Riccarelli (3 December 1954 – 21 July 2013) was an Italian novelist and short story writer. Born in Turin, Riccarelli read philosophy at the University of Turin. He won the 1998 Campiello Prize for ''Un uomo che forse si chiamava Schulz'' an ...

, ''Il dolore perfetto '' *2005 –

Maurizio Maggiani Maurizio is an Italian masculine given name, derived from the Roman name Mauritius. Mauritius is a derivative of Maurus, meaning ''dark-skinned, Moorish''. List of people with the given name Maurizio Art and music * Maurizio Arcieri (born 1945), ...

, ''Il viaggiatore notturno '' *2006 – Sandro Veronesi, ''Caos calmo'' *2007 – Niccolò Ammaniti, ''

Come Dio comanda ''As God Commands'' ( it, Come Dio сomanda) is a 2008 Italian drama film directed by Gabriele Salvatores, based on novel of the same name by Niccolò Ammaniti. It was entered into the 31st Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Filippo T ...

'' *2008 – Paolo Giordano, '' La solitudine dei numeri primi'' *2009 – Tiziano Scarpa, ''Stabat mater'' *2010 –

Antonio Pennacchi Antonio Pennacchi (26 January 1950 – 3 August 2021) was an Italian writer, winner of the Strega Prize in 2010 for his novel, ''Canale Mussolini''. Biography Born in Latina in a family of workers from Umbria (on the paternal side) and of settl ...

, ''Canale Mussolini'' *2011 –

Edoardo Nesi Edoardo is the Italian form of the English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoardo Amaldi (19 ...

, ''Storia della mia gente'' *2012 –

Alessandro Piperno Alessandro Piperno (born 25 March 1972 in Rome) is an Italian writer and literary critic of Jewish descent, having a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. He graduated in French Literature at the University of Rome, where he currently teaches and ...

, ''Inseparabili'' *2013 –

Walter Siti Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, ''Resistere non serve a niente'' *2014 –

Francesco Piccolo Francesco Piccolo (born 1964) is an Italian author of novels, short stories and screen plays. In 2014, he won Italy's leading literary award the Premio Strega for ''Il desiderio di essere come tutti''. Life and career Piccolo was born at Casert ...

, ''Il desiderio di essere come tutti'' *2015 –

Nicola Lagioia Nicola Lagioia (born 1973) is an Italian writer. Born in Bari, Lagioia debuted as a novelist in 2001 with ''Tre sistemi per sbarazzarsi di Tolstoj (senza risparmiare se stessi)''. With his novel ''Riportando tutto a casa'' he won several awards, ...

, ''La Ferocia'' *2016 –

Edoardo Albinati Edoardo Albinati (born 11 October 1956) is an Italian novelist. Life and career Born in Rome, after Albinati started his career as a translator, a script adaptor and as editor of the magazine ''Nuovi Argomenti''. He made his debut as a writer ...

, ''La scuola cattolica'' *2017 –

Paolo Cognetti Paolo Cognetti (born 27 January 1978 in Milan) is an Italian writer. He started studying mathematics at university, but quit to enroll at Milan's film-making school ''Civica Scuola di Cinema «Luchino Visconti»'', where he graduated in 1999. He ...

, ''Le otto montagne'' *2018 –

Helena Janeczek Helena Janeczek (born 1964) is an Italian novelist of Polish Jewish origin. Life and career Helena Janeczek was born in Munich, Germany, from a Polish family of Jews who survived the Holocaust. She moved to Italy when she was 19 and has lived the ...

, ''La ragazza con la Leica'' *2019 – Antonio Scurati, '' M. Il figlio del secolo'' *2020 – Sandro Veronesi, '' Il colibrì'' *2021 –

Emanuele Trevi Emanuele Trevi (born 1964) is an Italian writer and critic. He was born in Rome, the son of Mario Trevi, a Jungian psychoanalyst. Trevi has written numerous critical essays on literary figures. His work on the Italian poet Pietro Tripodo won ...

, ''Due vite'' *2022 – Mario Desiati, ''Spatriati''

References

External links

Sito ufficiale del Premio Strega

Library of Congress

from the Strega Alberti company

(The official short biographies of the 11 finalists in the 2006 edition). {{Authority control Strega Prize, Awards established in 1947 Italian literary awards

1947 establishments in Italy