The ''Premio Campiello'' is an annual Italian literary prize. A Jury of Literary Experts (''Giuria di letterati'' in Italian) identifies books published during the year and, in a public hearing, selects five of those as finalists. These books are called ''Premio Selezione Campiello''. Then a jury of 300 readers (called ''Giuria dei 300 lettori'') representing different social, cultural and professional groups from each region of Italy, each with one vote, decides the winner of the selection. Since 2004, the Jury of Literary Experts awards a ''Premio Campiello Opera Prima'' for the best debut.

History

In 1962 Confindustria Veneto was seeking a contact between business and the literary sector and decided to formulate a literary prize. The first award was given to

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was an Italian chemist, partisan, writer, and Jewish Holocaust survivor. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works ...

for his autobiographical book '' La tregua'', translated in Britain as ''The Truce'' and in the United States as ''Reawakening''. The ceremony took place in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

's ''

Teatro Verde San Giorgio Maggiore ( vec, San Zorzi Mazor) is one of the islands of Venice, northern Italy, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group. The island, or more specifically its Palladian church, is an important landmark. It ...

'' on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore on 3 September 1963. Today, the prize is still promoted by Italian businessmen from the Veneto region and it serves to promote Italian literature. There is a literary prize for young authors, called ''Campiello Giovani''. Participants must prove that they are between 15 and 22 years of age to qualify. The committee that determines the ''Campiello Giovani'' is made up of young people. Very often previous winners and finalists serve on the initial jury to determine the current participants. Then, three teachers vote for the five finalists, and the Jury of 300 select the winner. Some foreign countries, like Germany and Spain, have begun to award a prize called ''Campiello'' using the same model.

Name

The word ''campiello'' is the diminutive of ''campo''. Unlike other cities that use the word ''piazza'' to designate plazas and squares, Venice uses the word ''campo''. ''Campiello'' is a little square.

Winners

Premio Speciale

From 1997 to 2003 Fondazione Il Campiello awarded a special prize (Premio Speciale della Giuria dei Letterati) which recognized contemporary writers for distinguished work throughout their lifetime. The Premio Speciale was awarded to:"Premio Speciale della Giuria dei Letterati"
Premiocampiello.org. Retrieved October 23, 2014 . * Anna Maria Ortese (1997) *

Elio Pagliarani Elio Pagliarani (25 May 1927 – 8 March 2012) was an Italian poet and literary critic, who belonged to the avant-garde Gruppo 63 movement. He was born in Viserba, near Rimini. Pagliarani graduated in Politics Science at Padua, and in the 19 ...

(1998) *

Maria Corti Maria Corti (7 September 1915 – 22 February 2002) was an Italian philologist, literary critic, and novelist. Considered one of the leading literary scholars of post-World War II Italy, she was awarded numerous prizes including the Premio Campiel ...

(1999) *

Franco Lucentini Franco Lucentini (; 24 December 1920 – 5 August 2002) was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies. Biography Born in Rome on 24 December 1920 to Emma Marzi and Venanzio Lucentini, a miller from the village of Viss ...

(2000) *

Raffaele La Capria Raffaele La Capria (3 October 1922 – 26 June 2022) was an Italian novelist and screenwriter. His second novel, '' The Mortal Wound'' (''Ferito a morte''), won Italy's most prestigious award, the Strega Prize, and is today considered a classi ...

(2001) * Michel Tournier (2002) * Edoardo Sanguineti (2003)

References

External links

* {{in lang, it. Campiello Fiction awards Awards established in 1963 1963 establishments in Italy