Nonot a fifth but a sextuplet the one announced tonight at the Roman amphitheater of Benevento, in compliance with the new rules of the 2026 Strega Prize which give space for at least one small and medium publisher among the finalists.
Here are the titles and scores:
The stone guests by Michele Mari (Einaudi), already winner of the Strega Giovanipresented by Vittorio Lingiardi. 280 votes.
Plato. A love story by Matteo Nucci (Feltrinelli) presented by Giancarlo De Cataldo. 242 votes.
The sleepwalker by Bianca Pitzorno (Bompiani) presented by Roberta Mazzanti. 195 votes.
Donnaregina by Teresa Ciabatti (Mondadori) presented by Roberto Saviano. 184 votes.
I twist it by Alcide Pierantozzi (Einaudi) presented by Donatella Di Pietrantonio. 170 votes.
Camus’ widows by Elena Rui (L’Orma) presented by Lisa Ginzburg. 163 votes.
The 80 years of the Strega Prize, unique and inimitable
82 years have passed since June 1944, when Maria and Goffredo Bellonci opened the doors of their home to artists and writers. Those Sunday meetings that continued over time rooted a frayed intellectual community that, for the first time, gathered and identified after the war years. We got to know each other, we discussed, sympathies and idiosyncrasies were born but, above all, we shared ideas and sipped Strega liqueur.
Marco Oggian, author of the logo of the eightieth edition of the Strega Prize. Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Thus was born the Friends of Sunday group, from which arose the idea of a literary prize like no other, based on the democracy of voting. From the beginning, the Strega Prize intertwined its destiny with that of Italian society, whose social and cultural changes it continues to reflect. The 2026 edition stands out for the prestigious milestone of eighty years which gives the Award a deeper meaning, in the sign of continuity and tradition, “Almost a life”, as stated in the claim of this edition with the round number, which recalls the title of the novel by Corrado Alvaro, winner in 1951.
The Strega shows off at the Macro in Rome
Among the events celebrating this important birthday, there is “One, five, twelve. Eighty years of the Strega Prize”, the exhibition inaugurated last April 29th at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, curated by Maria Luisa Frisa and Mario Lupano.
The installation is a journey through the history of the prize also through an “ideal library”, which collects over a thousand books selected from 1947 to today. The path is structured in strictly chronological order and includes the titles of the books, the five finalists and the winners, but also the media exposure of the Award through newspaper clippings and photos taken during the voting.
The Bellonci lounge, a private and public space
The fulcrum of the exhibition is a room that evokes the atmosphere of the famous Bellonci lounge, the beating heart of the Strega Prize. Reconstructed in its most intimate and convivial dimension, the environment is populated by objects, works and memories linked to the figure of Maria Bellonci (1902-1986), soul of the Award and posthumous winner of the fortieth edition.
Maria Bellonci in a vintage photo. Photo coutesy: Premiostrega.it
In her intentions, the apartment where she lived with her husband, Goffredo Bellonci, was not only a literary salon, but also a relational device, a private and public space, where writers, intellectuals and publishers met and dialogued. The exhibition proposes the rhythm, rituals and transformations that have taken place in eighty years of lively ferment and returns the complexity of a cultural experience that spans two centuries, in a continuous dialogue between domestic and public dimensions.
Towards the final: change of scenery for a prize that travels across the border
The Strega Prize, now also recognized internationally, after decades at the Ninfeo of Villa Giulia chooses a highly symbolic venue for the final evening on 8 July: Piazza del Campidoglio. An evocative change of scenery, which reaffirms the deep bond of the Award with Rome, the city in which it was born. The evening will, as usual, be broadcast live on Rai 3 and on the Prize’s social channels.
Among the international initiatives, in July the finalists of the Premio Strega will be the protagonists of meetings and presentations in Mexico City and Guadalajara. A project that strengthens the cultural dialogue between Italy and Mexico in view of Italy’s participation as a guest country of honor in the Feria Internacional del Libro of Guadalajara, scheduled for next December.