A jury of literary experts (giuria di letterati in Italian) identifies books published during the year and, in a public hearing, selects five of those as finalists.
Then a jury of 300 readers (called giuria dei 300 lettori) representing different social, cultural and professional groups from each region of Italy, each with one vote, decides the winner of the selection.
The first award was given to Primo Levi for his autobiographical book La tregua, translated in Britain as The Truce and in the United States as Reawakening.
The ceremony took place in Venice's Teatro Verde on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore on 3 September 1963.
Some foreign countries, like Germany and Spain, have begun to award a prize called Campiello using the same model.