Andrea Bajani has won the 2025 Premio Strega, Italy’s most prestigious literary award, with his novel L’anniversario (The Anniversary). The Rome-born author secured 194 votes, comfortably ahead of runner-up Elisabetta Rasy’s Perduto è questo mare, which received 133.
Bajani, already winner of the 2025 Strega Giovani and a past finalist for both the Strega and Campiello prizes, was widely considered the favourite this year. L’anniversario, published by Feltrinelli, blends autofiction and novel to explore the toxic dynamics of a family caught between guilt and escape.
“There’s always the idea of escape within the idea of guilt,” said a visibly emotional Bajani, thanking readers and publishers. “This year marks the 60th anniversary of Feltrinelli, who believed in me.”
First published in 2005 with Cordiali saluti, Bajani gained wider recognition with his 2007 novel Se consideri le colpe (If You Weigh the Guilt). Speaking after the award ceremony, he described literature as “contradicting the official version”.
His winning novel, set between personal memory and fiction, confronts the oppressive nature of familial ties. “It’s a story of domestic hell,” Bajani said, “but also the detachment of someone who says: I can tell my version of this.”
The Premio Strega has long been a highlight of Italy’s cultural calendar. However, this year’s edition was marked by controversy after Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli claimed he had not received the nominated books and was effectively excluded. Organisers responded that Giuli had opted to attend a separate event in Germany instead.
The government has since said it is considering relocating the prize ceremony from its traditional home at Villa Giulia to Cinecittà Studios, the historic heart of Italian cinema. The 2024 Strega Prize was won by Donatella Di Pietrantonio
