Media

The Mondadori Group is exporting to China  in franchising the Focus Junior Play Lab format, the educational and play space for children aged from 3 to 11, developed  by the magazine that is a reference point in the world of kids.

The initiative is the result of an agreement signed with Chic Investment Group and a Memorandum of Understanding with Xi’an International Community Fashion Town Construction & Development Co.

For the first time Focus Junior will deliver, also at an international level, its educational offer and all of the know-how of the Italian brand that is the leader in its sector, in line with the philosophy that characterises the title: an “edutainment” approach, that aims to engage kids and stimulate their skills and capacities through the development of labs and activities to accompany them as they grow up.

The first three Focus Junior Play Labs will open up in China in 2020 in Xi’an, within the High Tech district of the Sino Italian Fashion Town, a new international complex that is being built around the ancient city of Xi’an, and in the cities of Nanjing, in the Kingmo shopping mall and Chongqing, in the Chic World Together shopping centre.

Through the Chic Investment Group, the management and investment company that is working to bring European brands of outstanding excellence to the entire country in the coming years, Focus Junior Play Lab will expand also to other cities in China, with the opening of 12 play labs in franchising within 3 years.

Focus Junior Play Lab will enhance the Asian market for services aimed at families: children and kids will be able to spend their time alternating between recreational activities and educational and learning projects aimed at stimulating manual dexterity, creativity and scientific thinking through numerous labs that will introduce them to topics related to science, art, mathematics and engineering in a fun, engaging and innovative way.

A result preceded by a series of institutional stages that took place in recent months: firstly, a meeting in China in November 2018, an event organised by the Italy-China Foundation at Palazzo Clerici in Milan and the visit of a delegation from the government of Xi’an to Palazzo Mondadori in Segrate in March this year. Cooperation activities in China will continue in the coming years with the introduction of new initiatives currently under development.

The new project is consistent with the objective of the Mondadori Group to  concentrate on its brand leaders with the best multi-platform development potential.

Focus Junior is a magazine dedicated to curious kids that is a brand extension of di Focus, the Mondadori Group magazine that is a point of reference in popular science and entertainment and is the nucleus of a multimedia system able to transform readers into authentic “inhabitants” of the world of Focus, right from the pre-school years. In print and on the web and social networks, and from a TV channels to events like Focus Live, organised around the country, the overall audience of the Focus system is around 6 million (Source: Nielsen MI assessment based on AW Mag 2019 figures, Audipress 2019.1).

Sensual, ironic, and incredibly popular on social media: Ludovica Pagani, a star with over 2 million followers on Instagram, is the protagonist of the 2020 calendar that will hit newsstands with the magazines Chi and Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni.

Available from Wednesday 27 November, 12 new and exclusive shots inspired by a range of musical genres, from rap to disco, rock to country, and grunge to the blues, will surprise readers and fans of this young and talented web influencer, TV face and radio voice who is gaining a bigger and bigger audience.

The choice of a musical theme is not coincidental: in fact, music embraces the audience that follows Ludovica and the enthusiastic readers of the two magazines of the Mondadori Group; as a feature of TV Sorrisi e Canzoni and a topic widely appreciated and extensively covered by the magazine Chi.

“Work on this calendar was both intense and gratifying, and I will remember forever working in a team in perfect harmony,” declared Ludovica Pagani.  Each photo is inspired by a different musical genre: so we tried to cover the history of music. I am happy and proud of the result, and I hope that it will transmit the same emotions that only music can sometimes give,” she concluded.

Since 2016 Ludovica has presented a web series, a sports programme, taken part as a correspondent in ‘Quelli che il calcio’, written her first book ‘Semplicemente Ludovica’ published by Mondadori Electa, been in the cast of two Rai TV drama series, and a new TV series “Involontaria” out on MTV at the beginning of December,  as well as being a radio presenter on RDS NEXT.

The creative idea and photographic production has been entirely conducted by the Mondadori Portfolio team, the Mondadori Group’s photo agency, which for this occasion selected Cosimo Buccolieri.

Partner of the event, and of the entire project, is the hair-beauty brand COTRIL which for Ludovica developed a series of iconic looks, recreated ad hoc for her, able to enhance her natural beauty and charisma. COTRIL has always paid great attention to its social communication, which was why it began to work with Ludovica during the last International Film Festival in Venice and will continue for the whole of 2020 with a series of new and ambitious projects.

For fans who want to meet Ludovica and have their calendar autographed, the appointment is for 4 December , from 7 pm at the Terrazza Aperol in Milan (Piazza Duomo, 25): a unique opportunity to meet Ludovica and enjoy a delicious aperitif with a view of the Duomo from the most beautiful terrace in Milan.

The 2020 Ludovica Pagani calendar is on sale at €9.99, excluding the price of the two magazines, and will remain on newsstands for over a month from 27 November.

During the Salone del Mobile.Milano Shanghai  (20 – 22 November 2019), INTERNI will present the design talk The new frontiers of entrepreneurship.

The event, organised together with INTERNI China, will examine the strategic and productive directions of Italian design and the ways in which it is perceived in Asian markets, especially in China which is now the seventh biggest market for Italian furniture exports (Source: Assarredo). The protagonists of the conversation, which will take place on Thursday 21 November at 3.3 pm at the Shanghai Exhibition Center (Dome Hall – Piazza Italiana), will be Yang Dongjiang (Editor-in-chief INTERNI China and professor at the Academy Art and Design Tsinghua University) Gilda Bojardi (editor-in-chief of INTERNI), Renato Minotti (Co-CEO, Minotti), Giulia Molteni (Head of Marketing and Communication, Molteni&C|Dada), Antony Margiasso (Head of Industrial Design, Pininfarina Shanghai), Maria Porro (Head of Marketing and Communication, Porro), Eleonore Cavalli (Visionnaire Art Director), Sammy Ren and Cathy Zhang (Founders, Domus Tiandi).

Italian Design Factories, the fifth volume in the INTERNI Serie Oro, dedicated to Italian companies,  will receive its first presentation in Shanghai. The book ideally develops the narrative begun in 2014 with the celebratory volume marking the magazine’s 60^th anniversary, followed, in 2016, by a collectors’ edition 500 Italian Design Icons Still in Production, and in 2017 by Icon Makers and in 2018 by Icon Architects.

“In a certain sense, this volume summarises and constitutes a global overview of the themes examined earlier,” explained Gilda Bojardi, editor-in-chief of INTERNI. “In fact, it is in the factories that we find the skills and the main players of the design system. And it is in the factories, in the sense of the locations of technical and cultural production, that the magic takes place that leads to ideas taking shape and being transformed into an object that has the power to move. Our focus is on all those situations in which the great tradition of Italian craftsmanship is renewed focus in a way that can be integrated into today’s most advanced industrial processes and seize the opportunities offered by digital technologies,” Bojardi concluded.

A total of 57 companies are presented by Italian Design Factories: each of them described through their specific distinctive characteristics, linked to history, architecture technological know-how, artisanal content and research. The volume will be completed in 2020, with the presentation of a selection of design excellence which, added to the first, will take us to 100 Italian Design Factories, in other words, the best of our furniture production, as well as accessories,  coverings and materials for the domestic space. In 2021, by combining the two volumes, a final volume will be published, dedicated to the most representative companies from the world of Made in Italy, a book for collectors that aims to be a valuable resource for information for Italian and foreign operators who want to know all about the world’s best manufacturing industry. For this reason, a number of international presentations have been planned to talk about Italian know-how and its ability to continuously renew itself. After Shanghai the volume will also be presented in Miami – during Design Miami for which INTERNI is a media partner – on Wednesday 4 December at the Wolsfsonian Museum whit the collaboration of Italian Consulate General, and then in Dubai during Expo 2020.

Italian Design Factories, for which an extra print has been planned, will be available in three editions (Italian/English, English/Italian and Chinese/English) and will be distributed through major design showrooms in Miami, New York, London and Milan.

With 282 pages,  Italian Design Factories will be available from 28 November on newsstands together with the December issue of the magazine at the price of €10 (including the magazine).

For more information, please go to: www.internimagazine.it

What will the world be like in 10 years? “How do we want to live in 2029”? This is the theme of the 2019 edition of Focus Live, the popular science festival of the magazine Focus, which, from 21 to 24 November brings to a conclusion at the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, an extraordinary journey that has taken in the most fascinating and decisive issues for the future of mankind and the planet, and discussed the great challenges the humanity must face and the tools it needs to win.

Over 15,000 visitors (of which over 1,800 students), 117 laboratories for children and adults, 182 speakers on the main stage and in speakers’ corners, 44 interactive and multimedia installations: these are the numbers of Focus Live’s debut in Milan last years, with great public success for the event and the digital content. This year over 11,000 people have already taken part in the first two stages, held, respectively, on 1 – 2 June at the Porto Antico in Genoa, and on 18, 19 and 20 October in Trento at MUSE, Museo delle Scienze.

At the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci the discussion will focus on the environment, climate, ecosystems, but also on genetics, artificial intelligence, migration, space travel, robots and much more. A great celebration of science, open to everyone, where adults and children can let themselves be amazed by installations and scientific experiments, take part in interactive laboratories and get their hands on the most advanced technologies, as well as meeting some of the biggest experts and scholars in a range of disciplines and personalities well-known to the public. Leading international experts will be the protagonists of unique encounters that will outline the state-of-the art of recent discoveries in a manner tat is accessible for the general public, as well as for fans and enthusiasts. They include the plant neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso, the physicist and popular scientist Guido Emilio Tonelli, the climatologist Luca Mercalli, the diver Umberto Pellizzari, the scientific YouTubers Adrian Fartade and Luca Perri and many more.

In line with the style of Focus, a Mondadori Group brand, science comes to life in unusual and fascinating ways. From “space conquests” with astronaut Umberto Guidoni to some of the most surreal scenarios with laughs and semi-serious reflections with Saverio Raimondo, but also an ability to distinguish the true from the false, between information and propaganda with Selvaggia Lucarelli, the role of the youngest generations with Sofia Viscardi and with the TikToker with more than 2.5 million followers Rosalba Andolfi, the economic outlook that we can expect with Carlo Cottarelli, or the secret life of a rebellious genius like Leonardo Da Vinci together with Massimo Polidoro and the future of music with Saturnino.

And you can even take “a walk” on Mars with 3D visors, and without gravity, or experience the sensation of surviving in high water, watch the robot surgeon “Da Vinci” at work (able, for example, to peel a grape and then sew it back on perfectly), create a perfect avatar of oneself to interact with a virtual world, for example, trying on clothes online, testing your skills on an incredibly realistic driving or flight simulator, experience the sensation – using a special visor – of living with reduced senses in order to understand the difficulties of people with hearing or sight impairments, discover the kitchen of the future, cooking with artificial intelligence and the infinite number of recipes of GialloZafferano, in the company of the starred chef Alessandro Negrini and his interactive showcooking with Alexa and Google Home.

And there are protagonists also for the little ones, with the kids’ area laboratories to try interacting with robots, discover the wonders of water, virtually re-live the moon landing experience and play with the Science show of the scientific apprentice Giuseppe Spitaleri and the crew from the House of Talent.

Everything will be useful in attempting to answer the greatest question of them all: will we be able to deal with the emergencies facing the planet? The most important of which are the climate and the environment, demography and migration, and the fourth industrial revolution: the enormous climatic changes that are transforming the world we have always known forever; the aging populations of parts of the world and the increase in the inhabitants of others, with the associated imbalances and social tensions; the widespread use of artificial intelligence systems, with the potential to disrupt the job market and, if not managed well, risk concentrating wealth even more in the hands of the few, and increasing inequality between populations.

For tickets and a complete programme, please go to: www.focuslive.it

Opening times:

Thursday 21 November 9:30-18.00

Friday 22 November 9:30-19.00

Saturday 23 November 9.30-21.00

Sunday 24 November 9:30-19.00

Focus is Italy’s most widely read magazine, with 5.8 million readers and digital users (Source: NIELSEN MEDIA IMPACT DATA FUSION audipress 2019.1e audiweb 2.0 Feb 19), and 2 million fans on social networks.

Focus Live has been developed with the patronage of: Agenzia spaziale Italiana ASI, Agenziale Spaziale Europea ESA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia IIT, Enea, Inaf, Virtual Space Systems.

The organisation of Focus Live has been made possible thanks to the support of:

Main Partners: ab medica, Essilor, IBM

Partners: Aiteca, Celgene, Commissione Europea, e-distribuzione, Gilead, Grimaldi Group, Novartis, Oppo, Osservatorio Terapie Avanzate, Pfizer, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pegaso, Roche, Toyota

In collaboration with: Opera San Francesco

Partner Area Focus Junior: Candia

Supporter: Università San Raffaele

Charity Partner: Lega del Filo d’Oro

Media Partner: Focus, Mediaset, Focus Junior, Meteo.it, Smartworld

Radio Ufficiale: Radio Monte Carlo

In collaboration with Istituto Oikos

Il valore dello spazio. Le fabbriche di design come pratica del buon progetto (The value of space. The design factory as a practice of good design) is the title of an encounter organised by INTERNI as part of BookCity Milano 2019. For this eighth edition of the event, the Mondadori Group magazine, edited by Gilda Bojardi  will focus of the contribution of women in business and design.

This encounter, specially conceived by INTERNI, will feature three female protagonists with decision-making powers in their family companies  – with regard to production, management and communication – all of which are brands that have strongly conditioned the location and style of design at an international level. Three women who, with passion and competence and passion also in the area of publishing and communications, have directly contributed to the creation of publications dedicated to their companies. On stage, moderated by Patrizia Catalano, a journalist at INTERNI, will be Rossella Bisazza (Director of Communications at Bisazza, Vice-President of the Bisazza Foundation) who will talk about the book on the Bisazza Foundation’s art collection; Emiliana Martinelli (President of Martinelli Luce) with a story dedicated to her father Elio, a pioneer of lighting design; and Monica Mazzei (Vice-President of Edra) with a book that brings together the innovative solutions developed by Edra, one of the most creative and innovative Italian Design brands.

The encounter will take place on Friday 15 November at 6.30 pm, in the Sala Blu of Palazzo Mezzanotte – Borsa Italiana (Piazza Affari 6, Milano). Entry is free, subject to available space.

For more information: www.internimagazine.it

CasaFacile, the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Francesca Magni, has a number of surprises in store for its readers: a décor box and many events in Milan.

In fact, from this week CasaFacile is offering a limited edition box of wonders with everything needed to given free rein to your creativity. As a gift for others or yourself, the contents will enable you to illuminate holiday season parties, wrap Christmas presents, and make special decorations and  greetings cards, as well as a kit per for the creation of a metal ‘himmeli’ (a typically Nordic  hanging good luck charm for the house). The CasaFacile Décor Box can be bought online at casafacileclub.it at the price of €19.90 (or in Milan at the Nap Atelier from 14 November to 12 December 2019).

Also in Milan, from 14 November, the stylist Elisabetta Viganò will dress the windows of the Nap Atelier, (in Viale Piave 19), a space dedicated to interior design and the sale of fabrics, wallpaper and furnishing accessories founded by the designer Stefania Passera. It is here that her taste for a decorative style is expressed, with a “sweet” colour palette and mix of patterns, a place with a soul that is closely aligned with that of CasaFacile. The Atelier, that will be decorated with the participation of LondonArt for wallpapers, Ligne Roset for sofas, and Rossini Illuminazione for lighting, will also host until 12 December a number of events. Starting with the inauguration with aperitifs (on Thursday 14 November at 6 pm) to an open editorial meeting (on 28 November). Also, every Saturday will feature artisans on display and workshops (how to make a lampshade, notebooks with wallpaper, ‘pop’ embroidery); while every Tuesday there will be an architect or stylist from Studio Pisk for private and personalised advice; and, finally, every Thursday a creative laboratory for creations in paper and much more. Visitors will also have the chance to enjoy a nice cup of coffee by Caffè Vergnano. Book your experience and buy your box on casafacileclub.it

But that’s not all. CasaFacile, a point of reference for home and design enthusiasts in search of a refined but accessible aesthetic, will end the year with a special December issue. The magazine on newsstands from 4 December features: three Italian homes with Christmas decoration by top stylists Cristina Gigli, Vanessa Pisk and Elisabetta Viganò; two Christmas tables  laid out by mise en place expert Marta Mariani at the home of A Gipsy in the Kitchen; ten original do-it-yourself solutions specially created for readers by the magazines Bloggers; and a before & after in a one-room apartment full of space-saving ideas and charm.

 For more information: www.casafacile.it

GialloZafferano, the Mondadori Group brand that is a point of reference for Italians in the kitchen, is enhancing its web site with a new recipe section, created in collaboration with Iginio Massari, himself a point of reference in Italian pastry making.

The project includes a collection of 15 dessert reipes: to the 8 that are already online on the site will be added others week by week, created by the master pastry chef directly in the GialloZafferano kitchen.

Plus, on 12 November, Iginio Massari will be the star of a Master Class dedicated to pastry cream: and the maestro will use the social media channels of GialloZafferano to answer the questions and doubts of the community about this type of preparation.

With this collaboration, the brand, which has some 13 million unique users, will reinforce its relationship with leading high-end Italian chefs, master pastry chefs and bakers. The illustrious pastry chef, who is also currently involved in the opening of a new boutique in Turin, was judged to be the best in the world during the World Pastry Stars 2019, the international congress of high-end pastry-making.

All of the master pastry chef’s recipes will be available also on the social media channels of GialloZafferano and optimised for the smart speakers  Google Assistant and Alexa.

Sale&Pepe, the Mondadori Group brand, which for thirty years has brought pleasure to the table thanks to exclusive and refined gastronomic ideas, has been revamped, become even more special, rich and of the moment.

From November, the magazine, edited by Laura Maragliano, will focus on emotions, with a contemporary design, exciting photographs and the uniqueness of Italian excellence, covering the territory, products and companies from the world of Made in Italy, a unique and balanced overview of elegance and simplicity.

“With this redesign Sale&Pepe shows that it is always with the times,” Maragliano explained, “without betraying the character of a magazine dedicated to people who love good cooking and everything that surrounds the culture of food.”

The images will have more space and a more engaging effect, with new, sophisticated and elegant  typefaces, easier to read texts and recipes, close-ups and more creative and curated pages.

Sale&Pepe will also be enhanced by new features and columns dedicated to wine, extra-virgin olive oil, objects for the table and domestic appliances, territorial excellence and sustainability.

Confidenze, the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Angelina Spinoni and for more than 70 years a point of reference for an enthusiastic audience of female readers, present a special issue dedicated to the most exciting stories about secrets, produced thanks to the writing laboratory “ConfyLab”.

Over the summer, two coaches, the writers Annalucia Lomunno and Silvia Montemurro, read, revised and selected around 150 real stories told in the first person on the theme of secrets. As the editor of the magazine confirmed: “We received a great many stories about families, but also very personal things not said, often related to a highly emotional moment in someone’s life: from a surprising reaction to the collapse of the Morandi Bridge to the revelation of a hidden talent.”

Of the 150 stories that passed the scrutiny of the “coaches”, 15 were selected for publication in the special edition, on newsstands from 22 October, that Confidenze, has devoted to Confylab. The others will appear, in the middle of the magazine, in subsequent issues and will enhance the content of the blog Confidenze.com.

Enrica Bonaccorti is the protagonist of the cover, face of the TV program ‘Ho qualcosa da dirti’ that gives voice to someone who has to say something important to someone, including revelations, excuses, thanks and secrets.

Confidenze is a weekly whose distinctive characteristics are empathy and warmth With a confidential tone and complicit language, it deals with news, fashion, beauty, wellbeing, psychology, do-it-yourself, cooking and the home. It also boasts a 40,000-strong community of readers on Facebook and active of the web site Confidenze.com, a portal full of real life testimonies, short stories, articles about news and lifestyles, as well as editorial pieces by expert contributors.