Niccolò Ammaniti and Adriana Cavarero are the winners of the Premio Costa Smeralda 2026

Special awards were also presented to Javier Cercas, Emilio Isgrò, and Giuseppe Lai

Saturday, April 18, the Conference Center hosted the ceremony for the Costa Smeralda 2026 Award, reaffirming its status as one of the most prestigious events on the Italian cultural scene.

The evening was hosted by journalist Roberta Floris, before an audience that brought together institutions, leading figures from the publishing world, and an international audience. The initiative, promoted by the Costa Smeralda Consortium led by Renzo Persico and sponsored by the Municipality of Arzachena, was attended by Vice President Mario Ferraro, Mayor Roberto Ragnedda, and Artistic Director Stefano Salis. The winners were selected by a distinguished jury composed of Lina Bolzoni, Marcello Fois, Elena Loewenthal, and Chiara Valerio.

The 2026 Fiction Prize goes to Niccolò Ammaniti for the novel Il custode (Einaudi), a work that blends imagination and reality with the stylistic signature that has always distinguished the author. At the heart of the story is the young Nilo and a Sicily suspended between everyday life and mythology, where the figure of Medusa becomes a symbol of another dimension—invisible yet present. The jury praised Ammaniti’s ability to insert himself into the centuries-old tradition of Italian fantasy, renewing it with contemporary references and a lucid gaze on the present. A novel that, without sacrificing irony, draws the reader beyond the visible, restoring to literature its original power: to tell of what exists even when it cannot be explained.

Niccolò Ammaniti, Il custode

For non-fiction, the award goes to Adriana Cavarero for The Song of the Sirens (Castelvecchi). The essay tackles one of the most iconic myths of Western tradition—that of the sirens and Ulysses—by turning the perspective on its head. Drawing on philosophy, literature, and feminist thought, Cavarero constructs a refined exploration of the meaning of voice, song, and narrative. The jury highlighted the originality of her approach and the author’s ability to make the myth relevant today, transforming it into a reflection on the present, relationships, and contemporary identity.

Adriana Cavarero, Il canto delle sirene

Alongside the two main categories, the Costa Smeralda Prize awarded three special prizes.

The International Prize went to the Spanish writer Javier Cercas, an author capable of probing the boundaries between truth and fiction, exploring memory, identity, and ethical dilemmas with a consistently contemporary perspective.

The Mediterranean Culture Award was conferred upon Emilio Isgrò, a leading figure in international contemporary art. His poetics of “erasure” become a powerful metaphor here: removing to reveal, eliminating to create new meanings, restoring to the Mediterranean its nature as an open, shared space, fertile with civilization.

Finally, the Special Award was presented to Giuseppe Lai, commander of the Amerigo Vespucci, a symbol of Italian excellence around the world. An honor that celebrates not only a career, but a vision of leadership grounded in balance, vision, and team spirit.