The Strega Prize and the Italian Cultural Institutes

The Premio Strega tour makes a stop at the Farnesina. On 17 June at 9.00 a.m., in the International Conference Room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, a presentation of the ‘five’ finalists of the 75th edition of the prestigious Italian literary prize, organised by the Maria and Goffredo Bellonci Foundation with the support of the Strega Alberti company of Benevento, will be held in live streaming on the esteri.it website and on the Farnesina YouTube channel.

The meeting, moderated by Rai Uno journalist Serena Bortone, will be opened by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio and will focus on the international relations of the finalist authors and on the growing role in the Prize jury of the 240 voters selected by the Italian Cultural Institutes (IIC), alongside the historic representation of the 400 Amici della Domenica.

The collaboration between the Italian Cultural Institutes (IIC) and the Strega Prize began in 2009 and has grown steadily over the years. In 2021, in collaboration between the Ministry and the Prize, the number of institutes participating in the jury was increased from 20 to 30, and the number of voters from 200 to 240, reflecting the increasingly international dimension of the Strega Prize and the important work of promoting Italian books around the world carried out by both the Farnesina and its cultural network. The IIC jurors, who express an individual vote, are chosen among personalities from the world of literature, culture and publishing in the countries where the institutes are based, remain anonymous and change periodically.

To date, the following IICs are part of the international jury of the Premio Strega: Abu Dhabi, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Cairo, Lyon, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Montreal, Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Prague, San Francisco, St. Petersburg, Santiago, Shanghai, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Warsaw, Vienna and Washington.

The five finalists (in alphabetical order): Andrea Bajani with Il libro delle case (Feltrinelli), Edith Bruck with Il pane perduto (La Nave di Teseo), Giulia Caminito with L’acqua del lago non è mai dolce (Bompiani), Donatella Di Pietrantonio with Borgo Sud (Einaudi), and Emanuele Trevi with Due vite (Neri Pozza) will speak remotely.