# What is the Strega Prize? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/strega-prize/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Books & ideas · Updated: 2026-10-13 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* The Premio Strega is Italy's best-known literary prize, awarded every year since 1947 to a work of prose fiction written in Italian. It was founded by the Rome literary salon of Maria and Goffredo Bellonci with Guido Alberti, whose company makes Strega liqueur, and it is decided by a jury of about 400 people known as the Amici della domenica, the Sunday Friends. Past winners include The Leopard, The Name of the Rose and The Eight Mountains. Every July, a corner of Rome's literary world gathers at the Villa Giulia to find out which novel will be the Italian book of the year. That is the Strega, and if you want a reading list of modern Italian fiction, its list of winners is one of the best places to start. ## Where it came from Maria and Goffredo Bellonci hosted a Sunday salon in Rome, a literary circle known as the Amici della domenica, the Sunday Friends. In 1947 they founded the prize together with Guido Alberti, owner of the company that produces Strega liqueur. The name stuck, and so did the sponsor: Liquore Strega still backs the prize. ## How it works The rules are particular, and part of the fun: - **Eligibility.** The prize goes to a work of prose fiction written in Italian, by an author of any nationality, first published between 1 March of the previous year and the end of February. - **Nomination.** A book needs the backing of at least two Sunday Friends to be considered. - **The jury.** About 400 Sunday Friends vote. - **The shortlist.** A first ballot narrows the field to a shortlist of five. - **The final.** A second vote decides the winner, announced on the first Thursday of July in the nymphaeum of the Villa Giulia in Rome. The winner receives 5,000 euro, which is modest. The real reward is the attention: for a few weeks every summer, the shortlist is what Italy's readers talk about. ## Winners to read in English You could read through the list for years. A starter shelf, all known in English: - **Arturo's Island, Elsa Morante (winner 1957).** A boy grows up on the island of Procida in the Bay of Naples, idolising an absent father. See our page on [Arturo's Island](https://zestasy.com/wiki/arturos-island/). - **The Leopard, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1959).** The great classic, published after its author's death. See [is The Leopard worth reading](https://zestasy.com/books/is-the-leopard-worth-reading/). - **Family Lexicon, Natalia Ginzburg (1963).** A semi-autobiographical portrait of Ginzburg's family across three decades, told through their habits and sayings. See our page on [Family Lexicon](https://zestasy.com/books/natalia-ginzburg-family-lexicon/). - **The Wrench, Primo Levi (1979).** A rigger and a chemist trade stories about their work. - **The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (1981).** A friar and his novice investigate a string of deaths at a 14th-century abbey in northern Italy. - **The Eight Mountains, Paolo Cognetti (2017).** Two friends and the mountains of the Valle d'Aosta. See our page on [The Eight Mountains](https://zestasy.com/wiki/the-eight-mountains/). The years given are the year each book won. ## Is it a good guide to great books? As good as any prize, which is to say very useful and occasionally argued over. Because the vote comes from a large circle of Sunday Friends, the Strega reflects what the Italian literary world admires, which makes it a reliable guide to serious, well-made fiction. It is also a snapshot of each year's taste, so some winners age better than others. Use it as a long list, not a law. ## FAQ ### Is the Strega like the Booker Prize? In role, yes: it is the prize that most shapes a country's literary conversation and sales. The voting is very different, though: the Strega is decided by hundreds of voters. See [the Booker Prize](https://zestasy.com/wiki/booker-prize/) for comparison. ### Can translated books win? No. The prize is for books written in Italian. Authors can be of any nationality, but the book must be written in Italian. ### When is the winner announced? On the first Thursday of July, at the Villa Giulia in Rome. ### What is Strega? An Italian liqueur. Its maker's owner, Guido Alberti, co-founded the prize in 1947, the company still sponsors it, and the prize took its name. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Strega Prize](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strega_Prize) - [Wikipedia: Arturo's Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo%27s_Island) - [Wikipedia: The Leopard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Leopard) - [Wikipedia: Family Lexicon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Lexicon) - [Wikipedia: The Wrench](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrench) - [Wikipedia: The Name of the Rose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_of_the_Rose) - [Wikipedia (Italian): Le otto montagne](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_otto_montagne) ## Related - [Is The Leopard by Lampedusa worth reading?](https://zestasy.com/books/is-the-leopard-worth-reading/) - [What is The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti about?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/the-eight-mountains/) - [What is Natalia Ginzburg's Family Lexicon about?](https://zestasy.com/books/natalia-ginzburg-family-lexicon/) - [What is Elsa Morante's Arturo's Island about?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/arturos-island/) - [What is the Booker Prize, and are the winners good reads?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/booker-prize/) - [All Books & ideas answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#books)