The Bagutta Prize is an Italian literary award given each year to Italian writers. It began with people who supported Milan's Bagutta Ristorante. The writer Riccardo Bacchelli found the restaurant and often met with friends there to eat and talk about books. They started charging money to the person who arrived late to a meal or did not show up.

At first, the collected money was used for different things. However, on November 11, 1927, the group decided to use the funds to create a literary prize. They named it after the restaurant.

Other people who led the prize include Emilio Tadini, Mario Soldati, and Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti.