Mondadori

Spare, the autobiography of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, published by Penguin Random House and for Mondadori, in Italy, is being released worldwide today, January 10, 2023.

 From the very first pages, Spare takes readers back to one of the most poignant images of the twentieth century: two little boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin under the entire world’s pained and horrified eyes. As the funeral of Diana was being celebrated, billions of people wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry were thinking or feeling, but also how their lives would move forward from there.

Now, at last, Harry tells his story.

“The Heir and Backup: such definition was neither a judgement nor ambiguous. I was the shadow, the second in line, the plan B… I was summoned as a backup, a distraction, a diversion and, whenever necessary, a spare part. … All of this had been made clear to me since I can remember and reaffirmed periodically ever since.”

Before losing his mother, the then 12-year old Prince Harry was regarded as the cheerful and carefree Backup of the more serious Heir to the throne. However, that time of mourning changed everything. Harry began having issues at school and found himself struggling against his own anger and solitude. Moreover, since he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he had a hard time accepting life under the spotlight.

At twenty, he joined the British Army. Discipline gave him stability, and two missions turned him into a hero at home. However, he soon found himself more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and crippling panic attacks. But most of all, he was unable to find true love.

Then, he met Meghan. The world was captivated by that novel-like story and rejoiced in their fairy tale wedding. Yet, Harry and Meghan were pursued by the press since the very beginning, struck with numerous insults, racist comments and lies. Seeing his wife suffer, and fearing for their safety and sanity, Harry found himself forced to flee the country in an attempt to prevent history from tragically repeating itself. Few have dared to leave the royal family over the centuries. His mother had been the last to do so…

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his story, an account of his journey reported with unquestionable truth. Spare is an exceptional book full of particulars, revelations and intimate details emphasised by the awareness – conquered at a great price – that love always prevails over pain.

Prince Harry intends to support a certain number of British charities with the profits of Spare. The Duke of Sussex has donated 1,500,000 dollars to Sentebale, an organisation he set up with Prince Seeiso in memory of their mothers and which supports the vulnerable children and youngsters suffering from HIV/AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana. The prince will also donate 300,000 pounds to WellChild, a no-profit organisation he has supported for fifteen years as a royal and which provides home care to children and youngsters with complex health needs whenever possible.

The English versions of Spare will be published in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House UK, and by Random House Canada in Canada. The book will also be translated and published in 15 other languages: Spanish, Plaza & Janés/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; German, Penguin Verlag/Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH; Brazilian Portuguese, Objetiva/Grupo Companhia das Letras; European Portuguese, Objectiva/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; simplified Chinese, Penguin Random House China; Danish, Politikens Forlag; Dutch, Hollands Diep, a division of Overamstel; Finnish, Otava Publishing Company Ltd.; French, Éditions Fayard; Greek, Pedio Books; Hungarian, Corvina Books; Italian, Mondadori; Polish, Wydawnictwo Marginesy; Romanian, Nemira Publishing House; Swedish, Albert Bonniers Förlag.

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is a husband, father, human rights activist, military veteran, mental health advocate and environmentalist. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his family and three dogs.

Prince Harry

Spare

Mondadori.

January 10, 2023

Hardcover, 540 pages, € 25,00

You can find it here.

Cover credits

Cover design: Christopher Brand

Cover photo: Ramona Rosales

Spare, the memoir of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is to be published simultaneously around the world on 10 January 2023. The book, whose cover photo has already been revealed, will be published in Italy by Mondadori, in paper and digital formats. It will be released in a total of 16 languages around the world.

From the opening pages, Spare takes the reader back to one of the most poignant images of the twentieth century: two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow and horror. As the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, took place, billions of people wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling, and how their lives would move forward from there.

Now at last Harry tells his story.

With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication. Full of insights and revelations, the book is the result of profound self-examination and the awareness – achieved at great personal cost – that love always triumphs over grief.

Prince Harry wishes to support a number of British charities with donations from the proceeds of Spare. The Duke of Sussex has already donated 1,500,000 dollars to Sentebale, an organisation he set up with Prince Seeiso in memory of their mothers, which supports vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by HIV/Aids. The prince will also donate 300,000 pounds to WellChild, a no-profit organisation of which he has been patron for fifteen years, which makes it possible for children and young people with complex health needs to be cared for at home, wherever possible.

Readers can find information about the book on the Mondadori website: https://www.mondadori.it/libri/spare-il-minore-prince-harry/
The English-language editions of Spare will be published in North America by Random House U.S. and Random House Canada; in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa by Transworld, a division of Penguin Random House UK; in Canada by Random House Canada. The book will also be translated and published in 14 other languages: SPANISH Plaza & Janés/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, GERMAN Penguin Verlag/Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH, BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE Objetiva/Grupo Companhia das Letras, EUROPEAN PORTUGUESE Objectiva/Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, SIMPLIFIED CHINESE Penguin Random House China, DANISH Politikens Forlag, DUTCH Hollands Diep, a division of Overamstel, FINNISH Otava Publishing Company Ltd., FRENCH Éditions Fayard, GREEK Pedio Books, HUNGARIAN Corvina Books, POLISH Wydawnictwo Marginesy, ROMANIAN Nemira Publishing House, SWEDISH Albert Bonniers Förlag.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is a husband, father, human rights activist, military veteran, a mental health campaigner and an environmentalist. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his family and three dogs.

Prince Harry
Spare
Mondadori
10 January 2023
Hardcover, euro 25,00

A partnership with the historical archives of Italy’s most prominent companies has produced “Posters by major Italian companies”, a special publishing initiative by the Mondadori Group for collectors of timeless treasures of the art of advertising.

The initiative involves a number of Italy’s biggest and best-known historic brands – Barilla, Manetti & Roberts, Martini, Pavesi, Pirelli, Olivetti, Ducati, Fabbri 1905, Voiello – bringing back ten unique vintage advertising posters of great artistic and cultural value that made their mark on the advertising scene between the Thirties and the Nineties.

Starting this week, selected points of sale will offer fans of vintage collectors’ items a limited edition of the first five items in the series:

• “Notte di Stelline” (“Starry Nights”), a poster from the historic wall calendar designed by Adolfo Busi in 1931 for Barilla, the company founded by Pietro Barilla 145 years ago. In the illustration, chubby, lively children play with pasta of different shapes, demonstrating that pasta is good for you and gives you lots of energy, in an indirect response to the Manifesto of Futurist Cooking and its call to abolish pasta.
• “Venere moderna” (“Modern Venus”), an iconic advertising poster published by Manetti & Roberts. Designed in the Thirties by an artist from Puglia, Gino Boccasile, it is inspired by the maternal elegance of the archetypal figure of woman at the time, portraying a child playfully sprinkling the “Modern Venus” with talcum powder.
• “Jockey”, a work Martini commissioned of French painter Jean Droit in 1948. With a great focus on detail and bold expressive power, Jockey metaphorically recalls a horse race in which jockeys ride vermouth bottles: the Martini bottle is in the lead, while the other two lag behind in the background.
• “Bambino con i Pavesini” (“Baby with Pavesini biscuits”), designed by Gian Carlo Rossetti in 1961, brings back the timeless image of the Pavesini baby, a representation that was repeatedly brought back and updated over the years to suggest that Pavesini biscuits are nutritious and appropriate for even the smallest children.
• “Pirelli BELTED tyre”, a 1961 advertising poster designed for Pirelli by Riccardo Manzi. The artist designed book covers and advertisements in his humorous style, bringing a note of colour and merriment to the graphics in this poster popularising an essential product: reinforced tyres guaranteeing perfect safety at the wheel, paradoxically and ironically suggesting they are safe even if the driver can’t see properly.

The second limited edition collection will be available at selected points of sale starting on 17 November:

• “Vera pasta all’uovo” (“Real egg pasta”), an illustration depicting the emblematic Cubist chicken in support of the quality of Barilla pasta, produced in 1954 by Erberto Carboni, the great graphic artist and coordinator of the company’s image. The poster is a true homage to the quality of raw materials.
• “Tetractys”, an advertising poster created in 1956 by Giovanni Pintori, the designer whose original graphic works made Olivetti products known and recognised the world over. The tree-like portrayal of Tetractys underlines the proliferative potential of the Olivetti computer.
• Ducati 916, a true work of art in motion created in 1993 by designer Massimo Tamburini, incarnates the essential values of Ducati: Style, Sophistication and Performance. Probably the most iconic of all the motorcycle manufacturer’s models, the Ducati 916 offers an all-new synthesis of technology and design; its tempered headlights, in the middle of the poster, mesmerised the world in the Nineties.
• “Brezza che ristora” (“Refreshing breeze”), an advertising poster from the Forties for Amarena Fabbri (Fabbri 1905): an invitation to face the summer heat with Fabbri, renowned for its historic ties with the world of advertising – with Carosello and Fabbri telling the story of “a painter a week – Renato Gottuso” – and the world of art, with the Fabbri Award for Art.
• The print by Voiello – main sponsor of “Procida Italian Cultural Capital 2022” – dates back to the second decade of the twentieth century. The unknown artist offers an allegorical representation of Mediterranean identity and the city of Naples – underlining the company’s ties with the area – conveying a message about the Italian identity and quality of the ingredients and the production process.

The posters – available at the news-stand in specially designed display units emphasising their unique qualities – are sold with an exclusive booklet providing information in which collectors can find out all about the history of the product, the artists, the companies and much more.

The ten advertising posters are available in the best news-stands and supermarkets at a price of € 8.90 each.

Mondadori – libri per ragazzi is launching the new series “Io dico no” [I say no]: a series of books, each one dedicated to a current issue explained through ten key words by highly qualified authors.

Each chapter presents practical examples, anecdotes, ideas to develop critical thinking. Paths to build awareness, to think about issues together at school and at home, to say no to injustice.

The series opens with two books:

Viviana Mazza – Kibra Sebhat, I say no to racism. 10 words to understand the world

What does it mean to have a privilege, a white skin, when you are not even aware of it? What does it mean for someone when they leave everything behind to try and make a better life elsewhere? What does a young foreigner wanting to acquire Italian citizenship have to deal with?
The authors look for an answer to these and other questions, showing us how the prejudices at the root of racism are much more widespread than we think; but they also take us down a different path, where diversity is seen as an enrichment, co-existence as a necessary objective, anti-racism as the only possible response.

Viviana Mazza is a journalist on the foreign desk of “Il Corriere della Sera”. Her books, published by Mondadori, include Greta. La ragazza che sta cambiando il mondo and Storia di Malala, the first book in Italy to tell young people about Malala Yousafzai.
Kibra Sebhat, born in Rovigo in an Eritrean family, is an Afro-Italian native of Milan. She works in corporate communication, journalism and video productions. She was a member of Rete G2 – Seconde Generazioni, a non-partisan organisation that promotes the rights of the children of immigrants without Italian citizenship. Since 2012, she has been a contributor to “Il Corriere della Sera”.

Alberto Pellai – Barbara Tamborini, Io dico no al bullismo. 10 words to understand the world

There are victims of bullying, bullies, and the many people who witness these acts every day at school, on the sports field, online. How does it feel to be marginalised or mocked because of one’s appearance or diversity? What thoughts and emotions are triggered inside a bully and the person they target? What strategies can be used to protect oneself or others from the threat of bullying?

With strongly empathetic writing that examines even the most difficult emotions, the authors teach us that the first and most important thing to do is ask for help, and that a decisive response to bullying is possible when a group becomes a team.

Alberto Pellai is a physician, developmental psychotherapist and researcher at Milan University. In 2004 the Italian Ministry of Health awarded him a silver medal for merit in public health. Together with Barbara Tamborini, he is the co-author of many parenting and psychology best-sellers.
Barbara Tamborini is a psychopedagogist and writer. She holds educational workshops in schools and training courses for teachers and parents. Together with Alberto Pellai, she is the co-author of a number of parenting and psychology best-sellers.

Grocer’s boy, subtitle reader in the time of silent films, publisher: Arnoldo Mondadori was all of these and much more.

Fifty years after his death, the Fondazione Mondadori, in collaboration with the Mondadori publishing house, has organised a conference which, starting with the figure of the publisher himself, will reflect on the contemporary publishing sector by analysing its structure and characteristics, as well as the changes and challenges it faces today and in the future.

The meeting, which takes place today, Thursday 7 October, will be presented by Luca Formenton, Chairman of the Fondazione Mondadori and publisher of il Saggiatore, who will start bt talking about the main characteristics of Arnoldo Mondadori’s business life, his extraordinary intuition and uncommon ability to always look ahead.

“Semper et ulterius progredi: this is the Latin phrase engraved on the historic Mondadori brand, commissioned by my grandfather Arnoldo. Innovation and an eye on the future were constant features of his approach to the publishing business and it is this spirit that we want to remember today,” declared Luca Formenton, Chairman of Fondazione Mondadori and publisher of il Saggiatore.

In a historical moment in which the world is moving on from what has been the most serious economic and health crisis since the Second World War, the conference offers an opportunity to draw an overview of the various aspects of the publishing market, reflecting on the extraordinary ability of the book industry to evolve to survive, a demonstration of its capacity to “always progress”, thanks to the abilities of publishers and the intrinsic strength of the product.

“Publishing is based on the book as a textual form: beyond constantly changing mdeia and languages, the principal role of the publisher will always be to read, select and publish, no matter in what form,” said Enrico Selva Coddè, Deputy Chairman and CEO Trade of Mondadori Libri.

Following greeting from Antonio Porro, Chief Executive of the Mondadori Group, the conference will proceed with a dialogue with some of the leading figures from Italian and international publishing, presented and moderated by Mario Calabresi.

In presence or through video links, we will hear from Italian and international publishers, managers, writers and protagonists of the main elements of the publishing chain who will reflect on the changes affecting the profession of the publisher, the future for books in a an increasingly digitised world, the new challenges for physical bookshops and e-commerce, the role of social media and the big streaming platforms.

Taking part in the first session of the conference will be: Enrico Selva Coddè, Deputy Chairman and CEO Trade of Mondadori Libri; Núria Cabutí, CEO Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial; Antonio Sellerio, Publisher of Sellerio Morgan Entrekin, President and Publisher of Grove Atlantic Inc. and Eleonora Andreatta, Vice President Italian Language Originals Netflix, sharing a broad spectrum of views and experience.

The afternoon session will feature: Achille Mauri, Chairman of Messaggerie Italiane and Scuola per Librai Umberto e Elisabetta Mauri; Carlo Feltrinelli, CEO of Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore and Chairman of Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli and Librerie Feltrinelli; James Daunt, CEO Barnes&Noble; Stefano Mauri, Chairman and CEO of GeMS; Helena Gustafsson, Chief Content Strategy Officer Storytel; Andrea Gentile, Associate Publisher il Saggiatore and the writer David Grossman.

In su la cima – A documentary
During the day there will also be the first presentation of a documentary film “In su la cima” by the director Chiara Brambilla which tells the story of Arnoldo Mondadori with first-hand accounts on video and images from the archives of his life as a publisher.

To my publisher. Dedications made to Arnoldo Mondadori – Volume II
To coincide with the conference, the volume Al mio editore. Dediche ad Arnoldo Mondadori will be published which is a series of dedications made to Arnoldo Mondadori, and in which the “heroic” biography becomes an opportunity to discuss some of the key moments and figures in the history of the publishing house and its catalogue. The key to this dual story is the dedications and cards by authors, addressed to Arnoldo Mondadori, collected starting on two distinct occasions: the dedications commissioned on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publishing house, in 1957, bound in an album now preserved in the archive of Mimma Mondadori in the Fondazione Mondadori, and the dedications in the books of Arnoldo’s personal library, now preserved in Ostiglia. The book consists of a selection of these dedications – reproduced and transcribed – accompanied by an introduction that explains the selection criteria and shows the complexities of the relationship between author and publisher. The book was curated by Alberto Cadioli and is the result of close collaboration between the Mondadori publishing house and the Fondazione Mondadori and will be on sale from Monday 11 October.

The conference will be streamed live on the Facebook profile and YouTube channel of the Fondazione Mondadori, and on the LinkedIn page of the Mondadori Group starting at 10.30 today and will be available also on the Facebook page of the Mondadori publishing house.

Fifty years after the death of Arnoldo Mondadori, the Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori, in collaboration with our publishing house, is organising a conference on the present and future of publishing, taking the figure of the publisher as its starting point. A day to reflect on today’s publishing business, with an analysis of structure and characteristics, and on the changes and challenges to be met in the coming years.

Participants at the event, coordinated by journalist Mario Calabresi, will include some of the leading names in Italian and international publishing, who will attend in person or through video contributions.
During the morning, the conference will be addressed by Luca Formenton, Enrico Selva Coddè, Nùria Cabutí, Antonio Sellerio, Morgan Entrekin and Eleonora Andreatta. The speakers at the afternoon session will be Achille Mauri, Carlo Feltrinelli, James Daunt, Stefano Mauri, Helena Gustafsson, Andrea Gentile and David Grossman.

The conference will be held on Thursday 7 October starting at 10:30 am and will be visible to everyone in live streaming on the YouTube channel and the Facebook page of Fondazione Mondadori, as well as on the LinkedIn page of the Mondadori Group (divided into the first half and the second half, at 2:30 pm).

Starting on October 12, a new book will be available in Italy, and all over the world, entitled The Beatles: Get Back, published by Italian publisher Mondadori. 240 pages telling the story behind the recording of the album Let it be, with hundreds of previously unpublished images and transcriptions of almost 120 hours of the band’s studio recording sessions.

The Beatles: Get Back is a special addition to the documentary of the same name, in three parts, directed and produced by Peter Jackson, who also wrote the introduction to the book. The series will air exclusively on Disney+ on November 25, 26 and 27, 2021.

The book takes readers back in time to January 1969, the band’s last year together. Readers of the new volume enjoy the privilege of participating in the Beatles’ first practices, their mistakes, their boredom and excitement, and in the improvisations that led to the creation of the album Let It Be.

The Beatles: Get Back is the definitive book about the band, documenting these historic sessions. It reports their conversations, transcribed by John Harris, accompanied by never- before published photographs taken by two people who had privileged access to their get-togethers: Ethan A. Russell and Linda Eastman, the future wife of Paul McCartney.

In the same way, Peter Jackson’s documentary tells the story of the recording sessions with 55 hours of original video recordings and 120 hours of audio recordings, most of which have never been heard before. A number of frames in high resolution, stills from the same restored film clips, are featured in the book.

On October 15 Universal Music will be releasing new special editions of “Let It Be”, the Beatles album that came out on May 8 1970, in digital form and in five physical formats on CD and vinyl, including a Super Deluxe version with a 105-page book.

The Beatles: Get Back, in bookstores starting on October 12 (Mondadori, 39 euro, 240 pages), may be pre-ordered at the link below:
https://www.librimondadori.it/libri/the-beatles-get-back-the-beatles/

Our Mondadori publishing house has launched Nota del traduttore, a five-part mini-series on YouTube about the job of the translator, in the words of some of Italy’s top professionals.

Translation is a fascinating and extremely important editorial profession because it offers readers access in their own language to the works of foreign writers, helping them acquire a natural understanding and appreciation of the spirit of the text. Who better than the translator, who has “gone inside” the book and investigated its hidden depths, can guide readers through the universe that lies within the pages of a novel?

The format was created for the specific purpose of answering the questions to which even people who work in the world of books are unable to respond satisfactorily: do you read the text first and then start translating or translate it a bit at a time? What do you do when the author uses slang? How has translation changed over the years?

Nota del traduttore is a three-part journey in three different settings. The first is a desk, where the translators talk about the way they work and the objects they have at hand. The second setting is a red armchair where they reply to questions with a series of optometric charts representing the transition from a symbol to a meaning, from one cultural universe to another. In the third and final setting, the translators address an imaginary audience made up of photos of writers and book covers, reading a personal “note”, a few words describing the ultimate meaning of the work they do.

The five episodes, filmed at the Panatronics Studio in Milan, feature translators Marco Rossari, Monica Pavani, Edoardo Rialti, Gianni Pannofino, Luca Fusari and Sara Prencipe. The project was developed from an idea by Edoardo Brugnatelli, with the collaboration of Jacopo Milesi, Chiara Ottolini, Nadia Focile and Francesca Gariazzo, together with Claudio Sforza, Alessandro Freno, Ivan Tonucci, Cristina Sinelli, Federico Terenzio and Mauro Forester.

Our publishing houses are supply systems incorporating highly specific professional skills that transform the most impalpable things – what Shakespeare would call “such stuff as dreams are made on” – into consumer goods. Giving translators a voice and visibility is a way to highlight the craftsmanship, the competences, people and passion that is editorial work.

From here we want to expand this type of communication, to bring readers closer to our books, answer their queries about jobs in publishing and give the human and professional skills operating in our Group the credit they deserve.

In 2021, everyone hospitalised at the Sant’Orsola will receive the gift of a book. A companion to help them get through difficult days and discover something new. This is the Fondazione Sant’Orsola project for 2021. An idea that stemmed from the voluntary work of the non-profit organisation and was developed together with Coop Alleanza 3.0 consultant Romano Montroni, chair of the scientific committee of the Centro per il Libro e la Lettura.

The initiative was made possible thanks to the generosity of three sponsors – BPER Banca, the Unipol Group and UniSalute – and the kindness of the publishing houses of the Mondadori Group, who agreed to print 24,000 volumes. Three books have been published: Jane Austen, Emma; Jack London, Martin Eden; Cesare Pavese, La casa in collina. Three classics, three books to read and re-read.

The project was also supported by the Centro per il libro e la lettura, an autonomous body of the Italian Ministry for Culture, and will be endorsed by author Gianrico Carofiglio, who has recognised the importance of the initiative, the first of its kind in Italy.

As soon as the health emergency has ended and the wards are re-opened, the volunteers of the Fondazione Sant’Orsola will present the books to the patients. Until then, distribution will be organised with the assistance of the clinic’s nursing staff, who will ask incoming patients to choose one of the three books when they are assigned a bed. The Fondazione Sant’Orsola website will host a virtual community of readers, where views on the three books and other reading material can be shared.

“Books are essential to a person’s development,” explains the president of Fondazione Sant’Orsola, Giacomo Faldella, “but also to their well-being: some patients bring a book with them, and they see it as a life jacket before making a crossing on a stormy sea; or, more simply perhaps, as a friend to keep them company. However, many patients aren’t in the habit of reading, or for some reason were unable to bring a book with them.”

“In Britain, bibliotherapy has long been a recognised activity,” says Romano Montroni. “The National Health Service has a department set up for the specific purpose of using reading to foster well-being. The relationship between a person’s health and art is also deeply rooted in our own culture; in the early Italian hospitals, like Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, the sick and pilgrims were accommodated and treated in rooms that over the centuries had been decorated by the city’s great painters and sculptors, so the patients were literally “immersed” in beauty. In other words, well-being was regarded in a broad sense, not simply in medical-physical terms.”

“The first thing that someone experiencing a period of difficulty or illness should perhaps try and do is look after themselves,” adds Enrico Selva Coddè, CEO of Einaudi and Mondadori Libri Trade. “It sounds easy, but sometimes it’s impossible. So a simple gesture can help, which is to open a book and absorb yourself in the voice speaking from its pages. A voice dedicated to us, as an indissoluble combination of flesh and imagination. Three classics, because they are like old friends we enjoy seeing again, classics that, as Italo Calvino said, are books people usually say they are ‘re-reading’, not that they are ‘reading’.” Whether it is the wit and irony of Jane Austen, the courage and tenacity of Jack London, the realism and melancholy of Cesare Pavese, these books will certainly help their readers feel less alone.”

Exactly one year ago, Fondazione Sant’Orsola brought together around twenty volunteers – former booksellers, retired teachers, people who love reading – to set up the Libri in corsia project. In just a few weeks, the 1,745 books in the wards had been mapped to create an online catalogue patients could use to request a book located in another ward; the volunteers would then fetch it for them. The pandemic meant that, for reasons of safety, books could no longer be swapped in the hospital. But the Fondazione Sant’Orsola volunteers did not give up: they decided that if books could not be borrowed, they could always be offered as a gift.

This led to the idea being launched today, thanks to the generosity of the sponsors and the publishing houses of the Mondadori Group. An idea that the Fondazione Sant’Orsola volunteers have decided to take a step further with a new project Provo a dirlo con un libro. The Sant’Orsola website today has a catalogue of more than 250 books reviewed by the volunteers. Patients can ask for one of the books, or for one of the titles that have not yet been reviewed, and the volunteers will get it to them within 24 hours. Meanwhile, everyone can post comments and reviews on the catalogue, to build up the online community of readers.
22 June 2021

Arnoldo Mondadori often entertained writers and publishers in his family home in Meina, and would ask them to write a mot juste or sign their name on the wall above the fireplace.

Fondazione Mondadori is marking the fiftieth anniversary of his death with a digital exhibition that takes those signatures as a starting point to look back at Arnoldo’s relations with some of the leading figures from the 20th-century world of literature and publishing, from Eugenio Montale to Alba de Céspedes, Mario Soldati to Lavinia Mazzucchetti as well as Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Mann and Walt Disney. Interviews, archive documents and videoclips portray a home that was a place to work, to welcome friends and family, as well as a setting for encounters that hold a place in the history of Italian culture and publishing in the 20th century.

The exhibition is organised in three sections. The first, Villa Mondadori in Meina, looks at the history of the lakeside house, from its purchase in the 1920s as a summer residence open to friends and guests, to its use as a refuge and branch of the publishing house during the Second World War.

The second and third sections of the exhibition, Authors and The Publishing World, examine Arnoldo Mondadori’s relationships with some of the authors of the signatures above the fireplace: Enzo Biagi, Valentino Bompiani, Dino Buzzati, Piero Chiara, Alba de Céspedes, Lavinia Mazzucchetti, Domenico Porzio, Vasco Pratolini, Colette Rosselli, Renzo Segala, Mario Soldati.

The exhibition is online on the Fondazione Mondadori website from Friday 4 June.

50 years since the death of Arnoldo Mondadori: program

Il cam(m)ino dell’editore. Storie di Arnoldo Mondadori a Meina opens a program of initiatives dedicated to the publisher on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his death, on 8 June 2021, organised in collaboration with other entities

They include:

1. A commemorative postage stamp printed by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato and issued by the Italian Post Office on Tuesday 8 June.
2. Two books examining the figure of Arnoldo Mondadori, published by Fondazione Mondadori for the «Biblioteca» series. The first is entitled Lettere all’editore. Aleramo, de Céspedes e Manzini autrici Mondadori, edited by Sabina Ciminari. The second, Dear Mr. Mondadori. I romanzi americani nel catalogo Mondadori 1930-1960, is edited by Cinzia Scarpino and traces the history of the American novels in the Mondadori catalogue between the 1930s and the end of the 1960s.
3. A reprint of the biography Arnoldo Mondadori by Enrico Decleva for the Mondadori series «Oscar Storia»: in his examination of the life of the distinguished publisher and entrepreneur, for which he was awarded the Acqui-Storia prize, Decleva describes a fundamental period in arts and culture, the creation of a mass market for books and journals in a century of important social change. The book will be available from 8 June.
4. A celebratory book, produced as a collaboration between the Mondadori publishing house and Fondazione Mondadori. The book will use a collection of dedications by the authors to Arnoldo Mondadori as the springboard to recount key moments and personalities in the history of the publishing house. The selection will be made by Alberto Cadioli, who will edit the book and write the introduction. The publication date will coincide with the conference to be held in the autumn.
5. A conference on themes and trends in contemporary publishing, starting from the figure and entrepreneurial story of Arnoldo Mondadori. The conference, organised in collaboration with Mondadori, will be held on 7 October, the moderator will be Mario Calabresi.
6. A docu-drama produced by Anele di Gloria Giorgianni and directed by Francesco Micciché, alternating archive material and personal accounts on the life of Arnoldo Mondadori.
7. The creation by the Mondadori publishing house of a scholarship for the next edition of the Master in publishing at Milan University, in collaboration with AIE and Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori. The scholarship will be dedicated to the memory of publisher Stefano Magagnoli, who died recently and was for many years one of the leading names in Italian book publishing.