Ada D'Adamo

Ada D'Adamo was an Italian dancer, choreographer, and writer born in 1971 in Rome. She died in April 2023, the same month her novel Come d'aria won the Premio Strega, making her one of the very few people to win the prize posthumously. D'Adamo worked for many years as a dancer and choreographer, creating work for the stage that explored the relationship between body, movement, and disability. Her daughter Daria was born with a serious neurological condition and has required intensive care throughout her life. This experience shaped D'Adamo's artistic and intellectual development profoundly. Come d'aria (Like Air), her only novel, is a memoir addressed to her daughter Daria. It was written during the period when D'Adamo was diagnosed with terminal cancer, knowing she would not live to see her daughter grow up. The book is a meditation on bodily experience, maternal love, the nature of disability and care, and the approach of death — written with astonishing clarity and courage. The Premio Strega jury's decision to award the prize posthumously was greeted with great emotion in Italy. Come d'aria is considered one of the most significant Italian books of recent years and a work of rare moral beauty.