December 22nd, 2015 – “La Polveriera” by Stefano Petrocchi is more than a novel, it’s a journey through the history, the background and the legends of the Strega Prize; a journey that will be presented in Albania on Wednesday, Jan. 13 (at 2pm) at the Scutari University Library and on Thursday, January 14 (also at 2pm) in the Department of Foreign Languages of Tirana University. The events were promoted by the Italian Institute of Culture in Tirana, in collaboration with the Italian Department of the University of Tirana, the Department of Italian Studies of Shkodra University and the Honorary Consulate in Shkodra. Petrocchi is the Director of the Bellonci Foundation, dedicated his first novel to the intrigues and controversy that have characterized the Strega Prize since its inception. The most important Italian literature award was founded in 1947 in Rome by writer Maria Bellonci and Guido Alberti, owner of the distillery that produced the Strega liqueur. In the novel (published by Mondadori), which takes its cue from a definition of the award coined by its founder, Petrocchi retraces the events that have characterized the prize’s history, marked significantly by the strong personality of the founder, who directed him for forty years, and Anna Maria Rimoaldi, an equally formidable figure who was a worthy successor. The novel is a journey through the history of Italian literature and culture from the late twentieth century to today. (Red)
