Premio Acqui Storia
One of Italy's oldest and most respected history-book prizes, awarded in Acqui Terme every autumn. The ceremony at the Teatro Ariston crowns the year's best works of scientific history, popular history and the historical novel.
Why it's special
Running since 1968, the Premio Acqui Storia is a genuinely national literary event held in a small spa town — the shortlists are read across Italy and Europe, and the October ceremony draws historians, authors and a career-award laureate to the Teatro Ariston.
Programme · 2026
- The ceremony at the Teatro Ariston is free but reservation is recommended (info@acquistoria.it).
- Collateral talks and author events run in the town in the weeks around it — check the Premio Acqui Storia site for the programme.
For a spa town of fewer than twenty thousand people, Acqui punches oddly high in Italian letters. The Premio Acqui Storia, going since 1968, is one of the country's most authoritative history-book prizes — its shortlists are read well beyond Piedmont, and every autumn the winners are crowned at the Teatro Ariston in front of historians, novelists and a career-award laureate. The prize splits across scientific history, popular history, the historical novel and a children's category, with a "Testimone del Tempo" award on top.
The rhythm is the same each year: finalists in summer, winners announced in late September, and the ceremony in October. The 2025 edition — the 58th — was held on 18 October at the Ariston. The 59th closes with three days of talks, films, theatre and an exhibition from 15 October, ending with the ceremony on Saturday 17 October 2026. Entry to the evening is free but worth reserving. If you're in Acqui Terme that week, it's a rare chance to catch a national book prize in a town small enough to walk end to end after — up to the Castello dei Paleologi and back before dinner.
More events in Monferrato in October 2026 →
Featured
Past editions
| Year | Dates | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 15–17 October 2026 (award ceremony Saturday 17 October) | 59th edition — 223 books entered. Winners: Fulvio Conti, "Massoneria e fascismo" (Carocci, scientific history); Carlo Greppi, "Figlia mia. Vita di Franca Jarach, desaparecida" (Laterza, popular history); Lorenzo Pavolini, "Mille" (Marsilio, historical novel); Nicoletta Verna, "L'inverno delle stelle" (Rizzoli, the new Ragazzi section). Thu 15 October – 9:45 "Cefalonia, giustizia e memoria" talk at the Teatro Ariston with military prosecutor Marco De Paolis; 13:50 restored screening of Daniele Gaglianone's "I nostri anni" with the director; 21:00 "106 Garofani Rossi", a civic-theatre piece on Matteotti, at the Sala Kaimano (open to all). Thu 15 – Sat 17 October – "La Rosa Bianca" exhibition on the anti-Nazi student resistance, Scuola primaria G. Saracco, Via XX Settembre. Fri 16 October – 9:40 the winning authors meet students at the Ariston; 13:50 History Lab schools awards, with Gianni Oliva on the Republic's 80th anniversary. Sat 17 October – 17:00 award ceremony at the Teatro Ariston (Piazza Matteotti), hosted by Roberto Giacobbo: the four section winners plus "Testimone del Tempo" to Amalia Ercoli Finzi and Maria Amata Garito, "Premio alla Carriera" to Elena Aga Rossi and "La Storia in TV" to Massimo Giletti. Open to the public. |
| 2025 | 18 October 2025 | 58th edition — award ceremony at the Teatro Ariston, Acqui Terme. Sat 18 October 2025 – Cerimonia di Premiazione: winners of the four sections announced (scientific history, popular history, historical novel, children's category), with career and "Testimone del Tempo" awards. Free entry, reservation recommended. |