Sicily which opened to the world thanks to literature, today narrates itself through wine

Sicily, which has opened itself to the world like the pages of a book through masterpieces of Italian literature written by its greatest authors, from Giovanni Verga to Leonardo Sciascia, from Luigi Pirandello to Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, from Salvatore Quasimodo to Andrea Camilleri, from Simonetta Agnello Hornby to Stefania Auci, just to name a few up to the present day, now tells its story through its great wines. From meeting “Premio Letterario Mandrarossa - La Sicilia che non ti aspetti” - the “Mandrarossa Literary Awards - The Sicily you don’t expect” comes, a cultural project promoted by Mandrarossa, a niche brand of Cantine Settesoli. The award returns in 2026 with its edition No. 2, recently presented at the International Book Fair in Turin, and will take place on July 25th in the extraordinary setting of the Temple of Hera in the Selinunte Archaeological Park, one of the most evocative locations in the Mediterranean. Chosen as a symbolic stage for a dialogue between culture, history, and landscape, the event will host the award ceremony for the winning works selected by the jury chaired by journalist, writer, and radio and TV host Concita De Gregorio (who takes over from Aldo Cazzullo, interviewed one-on-one by WineNews in the first edition, talking about wine and literature), and made up of prominent figures from the Italian cultural scene, including Franco Cardini, Neria De Giovanni, Eleonora Lombardo, Carlo Alberto Moretti, Christian Rocca, and Nadia Terranova. The event will be hosted by author and journalist Melania Petriello.
This will be followed by Concita De Gregorio performance “Madre. Una conversazione, nessuna colpa, centomila donne”, an intense theatrical and literary dialogue performed together with Melania Petriello.
The “Mandrarossa Literary Award - The Sicily you don’t expect” brings together the worlds of wine and literature, which are different yet deeply connected. This journey reflects the vision of Mandrarossa, long committed to studying and enhancing the Sicilian territory: if every vineyard tells a story through the glass, the Prize expands this narrative by inviting authors and readers to explore, through words, landscapes that go beyond stereotypes and offer new perspectives.
“The roots of culture are grafted onto one of Sicilyian symbols, wine which itself tells the story of a territory - explains Giuseppe Bursi, president of Mandrarossa and “guardian” in Menfi of the vineyard which is the “closest to the sea in the world”, 500 hectares of Syrah which quite literally “dive” into the Mediterranean Sea (as WineNews narrated in a video) - with the Award we strengthen a project that connects businesses, bookstores, and authors, helping to generate value. After the first edition, we continue along this path with even greater conviction, confident that culture represents a fundamental lever for the development and future of territories”.
A distinctive feature of the project is the involvement of independent bookstores, both Italian and foreign, which have proposed 93 finalist works - divided into five categories plus the Narrative Prize - and have actively contributed to building a widespread cultural network capable of enhancing territories and communities.
The Award includes an overall award - the Mandrarossa Narrative Prize - alongside five thematic sections inspired by the brand labels: Cavadiserpe for crime fiction, Bertolino Soprano for fables, Calamossa for debut works, Cartagho for historical novels, and Urra di Mare for works dedicated to the environment, sustainability, and landscape.