The winner of the Witch 2025 Award will be decreed tonight, Thursday 3 July, during a ceremony at the Etruscan National Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome. The event, conducted by Pino Strabioli, will be broadcast live on television, on Rai 3 starting at 10.50 pm.
How weak the finalist of the Witch 2025 Prize is weak
The five finalists
To compete for the most coveted among the Italian literary prizes, established in 1947 by the writer Maria Bellonci and by the president of the Strega liquor (and then actor) Guido Alberti, are: Andrea Bajani with The anniversary (Feltrinelli); Nadia Terranova with What I know of you (Guanda); Elisabetta Rasy with Lost this sea is (Rizzoli); Paolo Nori with I close the door and scream (Mondadori) and Michele Ruol with Inventory of what remains after the forest burns (Terrarossa).
Giuli Disterna, Botta and Response with the Witch
Meanwhile, the difficult relationship between the Strega Prize and the Ministry of Culture continues. In 2024 Gennaro Sangiuliano deserted after the fool of the previous year, when he ‘punished’ by Geppi Cucciari did not admit – but he made it clear between the lines of his evident embarrassment – of not having read the five finalist novels (in this article the reconstruction of the episode). This year is the current Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, who communicated his absence to the final ceremony: “I register the fact that I was invited to the evening of the Strega Prize – he said -, were very nice, but I have not received any contact and no book. It is a little curious that one should go to the evening of the witch award having not received the books for which the evening is organized. Sunday'”.
The declaration of Giuli was followed by the response of the management of the witch: “We did not send him the books of the prize because we ask the publishers to ship them solely to the jury of the witch, from which he resigned on the day of his appointment at the Ministry of Culture – underlined the director of the Bellonci Foundation, Stefano Petrocchi -. Of course the minister was among the guests at tomorrow evening at Villa Giulia, as previously to that of the Strega Poetry Prize last 9 October, and we will be happy to re -establish it next year on the occasion of our eighteenth edition.
