Persol announces its participation as a partner of the 80th edition of the Premio Strega: a collaboration that brings together two Italian excellences under the banner of culture, design, and storytelling. For over a century, the eyewear brand has been deeply connected to visual culture and cinema. Iconic models such as the 649 and the 714, made famous by personalities including Marcello Mastroianni and Steve McQueen, embody an imagination that has spanned generations.
Rooted in Italian manufacturing tradition, Persol continues to enhance complex craftsmanship, material research, and an aesthetic that blends charm with engineering. Distinctive details such as the Supreme Arrow and the Meflecto system are recognizable innovations and stylistic signatures — expressions of Italian design capable of transforming an everyday object into a cultural icon. Through this approach, the brand has cultivated its own vision of Italian identity, grounded in heritage, attention to detail, and a balance between tradition and modernity.
Promoted and organized by the Fondazione Maria e Goffredo Bellonci and Strega Alberti Benevento, the Premio Strega celebrates its 80th anniversary with a rich calendar of events involving cultural institutions, authors, archives, exhibitions, and public talks, reaffirming the central role of the award in Italian cultural history and contemporary debate. Among the key events, on April 1st at the Temple of Vibia Sabina and Hadrian in Rome, the collaboration will be officially announced to the press alongside the presentation of the nominated books. The first vote to select the five finalists will take place, as tradition dictates, at the Teatro Romano in Benevento on June 3rd.
A Special Edition to Celebrate 80 Years of Italian Excellence
To mark this important anniversary, Persol has created a special edition of the Riviera model (PO8001S) in a sun version. Featuring custom laser engraving, the frame is embellished with a dedicated stamp bearing the celebratory logo of the Premio Strega’s 80th anniversary. This exclusive edition will be presented and subsequently gifted in Benevento as part of the official Prize initiatives.
For Persol, this collaboration represents a unique opportunity to celebrate the encounter between design and Italian culture, as highlighted by Jarvis Macchi, Brand and Product Director of Persol:
“The collaboration with the Bellonci Foundation and the Premio Strega represents for us an opportunity for dialogue between worlds that share the same cultural roots. For over a century, our brand has interpreted Italian design as an expression of craftsmanship, aesthetics, and avant-garde spirit — values that we also recognize in the history and identity of the Prize. Celebrating the 80th edition together means paying tribute to an excellence of Italian culture and reaffirming our commitment to supporting art and creativity as fundamental pillars of Made in Italy.”
The Premio Strega also considers this collaboration a meaningful opportunity to celebrate the meeting of literature, design, and fashion, highlighting the cultural and creative values that define Made in Italy. As emphasized by Stefano Petrocchi, Director of the Fondazione Maria e Goffredo Bellonci:
“We are delighted to collaborate with a historic and prestigious brand such as Persol on the occasion of the 80th edition of the Premio Strega. This partnership underlines how the Prize is not only a literary event, but also a social and cultural occasion where literature and fashion contribute, in different ways, to telling the story of Italian society.”
Confirming its commitment to contemporary culture, Persol will also participate as a partner in the exhibition organized at the MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, dedicated to the 80-year history of the Premio Strega, which will open on April 29th.