The Premio Strega presented to the public in Spain

As part of the programme of the Ellas Crean Festival, the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid hosts the presentation of the Premio Strega, Italy’s most important literary award promoted by the Maria e Goffredo Bellonci Foundation and awarded every year to an Italian work of fiction. The event will be attended by the 2018 winner, Helena Janaczeck, and by Giovanni Solimine and Stefano Petrocchi, respectively President and Director of the Maria and Goffredo Bellonci Foundation. First established in 1947 thanks to the generous patronage of Guido Alberti, who named the prize after the famous Strega liqueur produced by his family business, the prize is awarded every year to a writer selected by ‘Amici della domenica’, a jury made up of 400 people belonging to different branches of the Italian cultural milieu. The books that have been awarded the Strega Prize over the years have told the story of our country, its language and traditions along with the way that it has changed. The approach taken in selecting the winner encourages Italian readers and supports contemporary fiction. This year marks the Premio Strega’s 73rd edition and it will be awarded to  a work of fiction published between 1 March 2018 and 28 February 2019. The Programme of the Ellas Crean Festival will run until 31 March at different cultural venues in Madrid. The Festival is organized every year to celebrate International Women’s Day thanks to the support of different institutions, including the Italian Cultural Institute in Madrid, and schedules a variety of cultural activities: dance, music, literature, cinema, plays and poetry, featuring both well-established and emerging talents of the world of culture.