Il Strega Award has turned 80 and is celebrating this important milestone with a symbolic change: the final is moving to the institutional heart of Rome, in Capitol HillA transition that combines tradition and renewal, confirming the prize's central role in the Italian cultural landscape.
The relocation of the final evening to the Capitoline Hill, the seat of Rome's City Council and a place steeped in history, represents much more than a simple logistical change. It is a sign of openness to the city and its institutions, as well as a way to emphasize the public value of literature. The solemn setting of the Capitoline Hill reinforces the idea of the book as a shared cultural asset, capable of generating discussion and identity.
Founded in 1947 by Maria Bellonci and supported by the Alberti family, producers of the famous Strega liqueur from which it takes its name, the prize has become the most prestigious literary award in Italy over the years. It has helped launch and consolidate the careers of key contemporary fiction authors, influencing tastes, trends, and cultural debates.
Over the years, the Strega Prize has reinvented itself, introducing sections dedicated to young authors and expanding its dialogue with the international publishing world. Today, eighty years after its inception, it continues to be a privileged observatory on Italian fiction, identifying new voices and consolidating established authorial paths.
This anniversary is not only a celebration of the past, but also a look to the future. Changing "home" for the finals reaffirms the vitality of the prize and its ability to adapt to the times, without losing its connection to its roots. In an era of rapid transformation, literature thus finds a new, prestigious setting to continue to narrate the present.
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