Books

2025: a year of new narratives to enrich and celebrate the history of Electa, an art book publisher, exhibition organiser and creator of cultural projects. A year of initiatives that interrogate knowledge beyond the boundaries of the visual arts, reflecting a more contemporary vision and suggesting new ways of reading and ‘looking’.

Projects, encounters, readings, stories: from archaeology to contemporary art, design to architecture and photography to literary criticism, which aspire to question the ‘political’ role of bearing witness to art, exploring every possible intersection, contamination and contradiction between image and word.

‘Pesci d’oro: in bookshops in May, preview at Turin International Book Fair

To commemorate its birthday, a celebratory edition of the iconic series of illustrated short essays, ‘Pesci rossi‘, will be in bookshops. These books recall the approach and writing technique of the eponymous collection (1920) by critic Emilio Cecchi.

Three new titles that fit in and stand out within the series for the gold colour of the cover, an echo of the most illustrious tradition of art books and for the dialogue they establish between legacy and future. Their intention is retracing the roots of the publishing house and suggesting directions for its development.

The first two books will be released on 27th May and available for preview at the Turin International Book Fair

• Michele Dantini, Bernard Berenson e l’arte contemporanea Storia, critica, editoria (Bernard Berenson and Contemporary Art History, Criticism, Publishing) investigates the American historian’s militant interests in contemporary art, which are less well known, forgotten or deliberately removed from criticism after his death. What emerges is a new and convincing ‘portrait’ that reinstates Berenson in his rightful place within Italian and European culture of the first half of the 20th century.
• Antonella Anedda, La vita dei dettagli (The life of details) is now available in a new edition enriched with a valuable appendix by the author and an afterword by Andrea Cortellessa. A title that questions the powerful fascination of details in works of art. A silent collector of details, a patient worshipper of paintings, Anedda explores the meaning of art and the enigma of its fruition.

To be released in September

• Carlo Vinti, Stefano Faoro, Electa publisher 2025. Dal 1945 ottanta anni di cultura visiva (Since 1945, eighty years of visual culture) has been dedicated to publishing and exhibition projects which, according to the authors who selected them, would over the years influence the development of editorial graphics in Italy. A richly illustrated excursus from the post-war printing tradition, through modern visual culture, graphic design and photography to the research of the new millennium and Electa’s identity today.

In 2025, Electa publishes also the catalogue of the 24th International Triennale Milano Exhibition, for which it manages and curates the bookshop and publishes the catalogue (in 3 volumes) of the Italian Pavillion at the 19th edition of the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, whose bookshops it also continues to curate.

A bridge between image and word, new paths (editorial and design)

As Rosanna Cappelli, managing director of the publishing house since 2020, recounts, ‘Electa, on the threshold of eighty years, felt the need for a publishing ‘gap’ and to get closer to the contemporary audience.

Inspired by the great literature of the 20th century, the crossing of genres, the hybridisation of knowledge and expertise, several of today’s projects (from the new series A-Z, Oilà and Scritti to palimpsests such as Esistere come donna) are based on a method that investigates the possible intersections, contaminations and contradictions between image and word.”

The creativity of the poster and logo for Electa’s birthday is by Studio Sonnoli, which has been responsible for the publisher’s visual identity for several years. It is their graphic design work on the most recent and cross-genre series such as the eccentric monographs A-Z, the feminist biographies Oilà and the newly launched art criticism series Scritti. For the latter series, the Marco Vallora volume will be in bookshops on 27 May, but available as a preview at the Turin International Book Fair. Scritti. Come se la parola dipingesse [Writings. As if the word painted], edited by Giorgio Agamben, Marcello Barison, Monica Ferrando, and with an unpublished recollection by Nicola Lagioia.

THE STORY:
A legacy that looks to the future

The name ‘Electa’ was registered in 1927, but the publishing house under this name began its publications in 1945, in Florence, in the fervour, including editorial fervour, that marked Liberation throughout Italy, with the reconstruction and re-foundation of its principles.

The art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959) inspired the editorial lines, giving shape and consistency to a catalogue from the very beginning, along with the influence of the environment of Villa I Tatti where he lived for most of his life.

In 1952, Electa moved to Milan, where it became a leading publisher in the study and dissemination of art, as well as its protection through knowledge, photographic documentation and criticism. Over the decades, it has built an unrivalled tradition on the Italian and European scene for rigour and continuity of research aimed at documenting cultural heritage, in all its forms.

From archaeology to contemporary art, from design to architecture, from photography to literary criticism/authorship, Electa has published magazines, essays, scientific volumes, monographs, guides and tools for visiting Italy’s art sites.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, it has been collaborating operationally with public museums, institutions and private foundations in organising exhibitions that are documented in its own catalogues.

More recently, it has started to offer itself to the same realities as a partner for the design of festivals and cultural programmes for the public, in particular through Fondamenta, the Foundation for Arts and Culture, established in 2024 from Electa’s experience and history, to design cultural participation activities and experiment with new forms of communication.

Electa editore manages and ‘curates’ bookshops at:
Mantua, Ducal Palace,
Milan Triennale
Naples, National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Rome, Colosseum Archaeological Park
Venice, Venice Biennale

2025 is a truly special year—no, a Squeaktastic one! This year, our publishing house, Piemme, is celebrating 25 years of incredible success with none other than Geronimo Stilton.

Created by Elisabetta Dami, the beloved mouse journalist has become a global phenomenon, capturing the hearts of millions of young readers with his funny, clever, and exciting adventures. An Italian success story, Geronimo Stilton has been translated into 52 languages and has sold over 187 million copies worldwide! In Italy alone, a Geronimo Stilton book is sold every minute! 

But What’s His Secret? Without a doubt, Geronimo Stilton’s magic lies in his universal language, one that speaks to fundamental values like friendship, empathy, kindness, respect for others and the world around us, and loyalty. But that’s not all! His adventures take readers across time and space, from ancient worlds to realms of pure imagination, always alongside a group of unforgettable characters from his hometown of New Mouse City. Over the years, young readers have grown to love and cherish them, including his sister Thea (also the author of many bestselling books, most of which star the beloved Thea Sisters), his cousin Trap, his nephew Benjamin, and his niece Trappy. And let’s not forget his friends, like Ficcanaso Squitt, Rebella Strong and Ficcagenio Squitt! Surrounding Geronimo is a true community of friends and family.

“For 25 years, we’ve shared the same passion, the same excitement, and the same joy in bringing the love of reading and imagination to our young readers,” says Elisabetta Dami. “Kids see me as the ‘Mum of Geronimo Stilton’—and even today, that touches my heart just as much as it did the first time. I see it as a sign of deep affection and trust, which inspires me to keep going with the same love… for the next 25 years!”. “But what’s our secret? Caring deeply about our young readers, listening to them, and sharing fundamental, universal values, helping guide them as they grow, in Italy and around the world,” Dami concludes.

Geronimo Stilton and his friends have explored countless topics in their adventures, but one is particularly close to his heart—because it’s more than just a theme; it’s a fundamental right that everyone should strive to protect, especially for children: happiness.

To celebrate this milestone anniversary, the famous mouse journalist has decided to make happiness the central theme of all activities in 2025. With the support of bookstores, fairs, festivals, schools, and many dedicated local partners, Geronimo will spread his message of happiness across Italy, from south to north, through a series of special events that explore this precious theme in all its many forms. Children will have the chance to meet Geronimo Stilton in person—fur and whiskers included—hear him tell his adventures firsthand and even shake his paw! And thanks to the new initiative “Tell Geronimo!”, young readers will become the true stars of these events. Geronimo’s goal is to collect thoughts of happiness, hopes, and the little (and big) joys of everyday life from all the kids who take part. If they wish, they can leave a message, a note, or even a letter—”Tell Geronimo!” will be a way to listen and share, two values that brighten Stilton’s world.

Starting in Messina, on the 19^th of February Geronimo will meet with five local schools, the famous mouse journalist will set off on a happiness-filled journey across Italy. His squeaktastic tour will take him to Rome and Lazio, Calabria, Puglia, Tuscany, and Piedmont—just to name a few stops—where he will meet thousands of children and share songs, reflections, important messages, readings, emotions, and fascinating insights related to his books and those of his sister, Thea Stilton.

This year, once again, Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton will stand out in the Italian (and international) publishing scene with fun and captivating stories that are not only entertaining but also full of educational value—guiding young readers on a journey of discovery, both through the world around them and through exciting imaginary realms.

Some of the most exciting new releases in the first half of the year include My Day with Lucy (in bookstores on February 25^th), a time-traveling adventure with Geronimo alongside the Australopithecus Lucy; Captain Lupita, a brand-new series by Thea Stilton featuring an all-female pirate adventure; Time Travel: Great Inventions, a journey through history to discover the inventions that have improved humanity’s way of life; and a special book dedicated entirely to the theme of Happiness, coming in May.

And finally, one last surprise: to celebrate this milestone anniversary, Geronimo Stilton will have a brand-new, special logo accompanying him

Mondadori Studios launches the ‘Senti Chi Legge‘ recruitment project. The initiative aims at enhancing vocal talent and passion for storytelling, offering the opportunity for anyone interested to become a new voice in the audiobooks of the Mondadori Group’s publishing houses.

The narrator plays a crucial role within an audiobook, and the emotional interpretation creates a unique and personal listening experience. A passionate reading can turn a story into an unforgettable journey and the voice can become the bridge from the written content directly to the listener’s heart.

This initiative offers all aspiring storytellers over the age of 18 the opportunity to apply, testing their vocal talent and ability to bring stories to life.

Participation is open to anyone who would like to get involved: an independently recorded audition can be sent through sentichilegge.it or using the recording studios, Mondadori Studios’ partners in this activity, free of charge, according to the procedures indicated on sentichilegge.it. Each participant will have the opportunity to demonstrate his or her skills by reading a song chosen from the listener’s favourite genres: Thrillers, Fantasy, Romance and Fiction.

The submission of applications will close on 12th February.

After an initial selection, an internal jury made up of experts from the audio and publishing world will identify 8 finalists, who will perform live on 26th February at the Teatro del Borgo in Milan, in front of an exceptional jury that will decide the winner.
The members of the judging panel will include actor and reader Francesco Montanari, author and content creator Davide Avolio and vocal coach and singer Annaluisa Giansante aka Anna Lu, accompanied by the godmother Martina Levato, book and audiobook reader, and presenters Edoardo Zaggia and Alberto Sacco.

Details on how to participate can be found at sentichilegge.it

Our publishing house Rizzoli won the ninth edition of the Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi 2024 in the 8+ category with the book “Rim and the Liberated Words” by Maddalena Vaglio Tanet.

With a story that makes us dream and reflect, the author reminds us that words are the key to freedom and awareness. “Rim and the Liberated Words” is among the top-rated books by very young readers representing the 318 schools that make up the jury.

The awards were presented this afternoon as part of “Più Libri Più Liberi,” the Fair of Small and Medium Publishers, in the Auditorium of La Nuvola, in the presence of about 1,000 primary and secondary school students from all over Italy and abroad.

The jury’s motivation: “Young Rim loves to collect words but lives in a country where words are captive and not available to everyone. There are not even schools. Words are therefore a privilege of the few and therefore not everyone can say what they think. Without words, in fact, there is no freedom of thought. Old Witzold will help Rim, through magical, fantastical and fairy-tale-like events, to recover ancient truths and, above all, to free the caged words. A compelling metaphor, as relevant as ever, for power and its abuse, the importance of language, and the utmost attention we must all pay to the free use of words and their knowledge, beginning in childhood years.”

The Electa publishing house is proposing a new project for the Electaphoto monograph series dedicated to leading contemporary photographers. Alongside the most famous names, there is also a series of little-known photographers, brought to light by careful studies with the aim of telling a ‘cultural’ story about photography in the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

The books, designed to be read and looked at, interweave text and images in a dialogue between languages, offering a new perspective on the photographers’ works and lives.

Mario Dondero (1928-2015)

Archaeologist, art historian and series editor Nunzio Giustozzi, together with Laura Strappa, curator and expert in photography and visual culture, will be the editors of the volume dedicated to internationally renowned Italian photojournalist Mario Dondero.

His monograph, divided into four sections, is distinguished by contributions from the most authoritative voices in journalism and culture, accompanied by a careful and extensive selection of photographs chosen by Dondero himself. This volume is the first comprehensive catalogue of his extraordinary work, organised chronologically and geographically to offer a visual narrative of the political, cultural and social events that shaped the ‘long’ century, chronicled through his lens.

Martha Rocher (1920-1990)

For the first time, Elisa Genovesi, an Italian researcher, and Raffaella Perna, a contemporary art historian and lecturer at the Sapienza University of Rome, will present the work of photographer and artist Martha Rocher, who interpreted the artistic and cultural panorama of 1950s Paris and 1960s Milan.

The selection of more than 250 black-and-white photographs, chosen from more than 1,600 prints kept in her private archive, depict the work and ateliers of the major exponents of the Avant-garde movements, including Yves Klein, Sonia Terk Dalaunay, Meret Oppenheim, and many others, offering an overview of the artistic climate of those years.

Giovanni Chiaramonte (1948-2023)

This series will also include the first major monograph on Giovanni Chiaramonte, the Italian photographer known for his philosophical approach, by internationally renowned Italian art historian Arturo Carlo Quintavalle in collaboration with the artist’s archives.

More than 400 selected photographs, some of his texts and an essay by Paolo Barbaro on Chiaramonte’s photographic focus on architecture have been organically arranged to make this volume complete and unique, testifying to one of the finest and most extraordinary perspectives in contemporary photography.

Its title is “HOPE”, the autobiography of Pope Francis, the first in history to be written by a pope, and it will appear simultaneously worldwide in principal languages and in over 80 countries next January. The announcement of the event took place today at the Frankfurt Book Fair by Mondadori, which manages world rights.

“The book of my life is the story of a journey of hope, a journey that I cannot separate from the journey of my family, of my people, of all God’s people. In every page, in every passage, it is also the book of those who have traveled with me, of those who came before, of those who will follow,” comments Pope Francis in the note that announces the publication of the book. “An autobiography is not our own private story, but rather the baggage we carry with us. And memory is not just what we recall, but what surrounds us. It doesn’t speak only about what has been, but about what will be. It seems like yesterday, and yet it’s tomorrow. All is born to blossom in an eternal springtime. In the end, we will say only: I don’t recall anything in which You are not there.”

With a wealth of revelations and unpublished stories, moving and very human, poignant and dramatic, but also capable of real humor, Francis’s memoir starts off in the early years of the twentieth century with the story of his Italian roots and his ancestors’ adventure of emigration to Latin America, moving on to his childhood, adolescence, choice of vocation, adult life, covering the whole of his papacy up to the present day. A text of great narrative force in which the Pope through his autobiographical account addresses candidly, courageously and prophetically some of the most important and controversial questions of our current times, as well as the crucial moments of his service as universal pastor of the Church.

Written with Carlo Musso, former non-fiction editorial director of Piemme and Sperling & Kupfer, and then founder of the independent publisher Libreria Pienogiorno, in accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis this exceptional document was originally intended to be published after his death, but the new Jubilee of Hope announced for 2025, and the needs of our times, have moved him to make this precious legacy available now. “It has been a long, intense adventure that has taken up the past six years: work on writing it began in March 2019 and will be completed in the forthcoming weeks,” Musso comments.

The book, destined to fascinate readers throughout the world and to represent a legacy of hope for future generations, is enhanced by some remarkable photographs, including private and unpublished material made personally available by the Pope himself.

These are the publishers now involved in the publication: Italy Mondadori, USA Random House, UK Viking, Canada Penguin Random House, France Albin Michel, Germany Penguin Random House / Kösel-Verlag, Spain Penguin Random House, Portugal Penguin Random House, Brazil Companhia das letras, Croatia Znanje, Slovakia Ikar, Hungary Kossuth Kiado, Romania Polirom, Greece Gutenberg Dardanos, Korea Catholic Publishing House, Catalonia Penguin Random House / Rosa del vents, Poland Swiat Ksiazki, Lithuania Lithuanian Writers Union, Czechia Euromedia.

The exhibition “Impression, Morisot” is the first major exhibition in Italy dedicated to Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) held at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa from 12 October 2024 to 23 February 2025.

Press Preview Thursday 10 October 2024 at 11.30 am. The exhibition is part of the calendar of official celebrations to mark the 150 th anniversary of Impressionism, included in the commemorative season initiated by the Museo d’Orsay in Paris, organised in collaboration with the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice and with unpublished works from the heirs of Berthe Morisot.

The exhibition is a project by the Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura and Electa, who is also a publisher of the catalogue, supported by the Liguria Region and Genoa City Council, with the patronage of the French Embassy, and is curated by Marianne Mathieu, one of the most renowned experts on Berthe Morisot’s work and a scholar of the history of Impressionism, and protagonist of many scientific discoveries in this field.

More than 80 works, including paintings, etchings, watercolours and pastels, plus photographic and archive documents, many of which have never been seen before, provide an insight into the life of the artist, who managed to reconcile family life and an artistic career, and entertained fruitful relations not only with the greatest artists of the time such as Renoir, Monet, Manet and Degas, but also with intellectual figures such as Mallarmé and Zola. The exhibition features scientific innovations related to her stays on the Riviera between 1881-1882 and 1888-1889 and the influence of the Mediterranean light on her work.

From October 16-20, 2024, the Mondadori Group will participate in the 76th edition of the Frankfurt Book Fair, where Italy will be Guest of Honor for the first time in 36 years. This prestigious event represents an important showcase for Italian publishing, with more than 230 publishing houses and literary agents involved. We will be present with our publishing houses and several leading authors in Hall 5.0, together with other important compatriot publishers and the Italian Collective Stand organized by ICE-Agenzia in collaboration with the Italian Publishers Association (AIE).

The space dedicated to Italian publishers, which this year reaches record dimensions with 668 square meters and 131 exhibitors, will be inaugurated on Oct. 16 at 10:30 a.m. in the presence of the Italian and German Ministers of Culture, Alessandro Giuli and Claudia Roth, together with the Italian Ambassador to Germany Armando Varricchio, ICE-Agenzia Director General Lorenzo Galanti, AIE President Innocenzo Cipolletta and fair director Juergen Boos.

The Frankfurter Buchmesse program includes a packed schedule of meetings and round tables involving all professionals in the publishing supply chain. The Mondadori Group’s participation in this important event represents a unique opportunity to strengthen the international presence of its authors and promote the quality and diversity of Italian publishing production.

Here is the full program of Italy Guest of Honor 2024

Mondadori Group publishing houses at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2024

During the fair, the Group’s leading publishing houses, including Mondadori, Einaudi, Rizzoli, Piemme, Sperling & Kupfer, De Agostini, Star Comics and Mondadori Electa, will be present with meetings and appointments. New publishing titles will be presented and internationally established authors will be promoted, as well as new emerging voices.

The presence at Buchmesse is a tangible sign of the Mondadori Group’s ongoing commitment to enhancing Italian creativity and literature globally. With the support of ICE and AIE, dialogue is promoted among industry professionals from around the world to help consolidate Italy’s position as a leading player in the international publishing scene.

“AIE has promoted a program of professional meetings that gives voice to the entire book supply chain, recounts its excellence, and confronts great international professionals: Italia Ospite d’Onore will thus be the story of the authors who make Italian literature known abroad, but also the story of a strong, innovative and future-oriented industry that works on technological frontiers and questions the changes our profession faces, in a continuous dialogue with the rest of the world.” Innocenzo Cipolletta, President of AIE.

Milan celebrates Enrico Baj (Milan, 31 October 1924 – Vergiate, 16 June 2003), one of the masters of the Italian and international neo-avant-garde, with a large retrospective as one of the protagonists of the autumn exhibitions, designed to revisit all the themes and subjects of his long and multifaceted career. Baj returns to Palazzo Reale in the Sala delle Cariatidi, exactly one hundred years after his birth and twelve years after the exhibition I Funerali dell’anarchico Pinelli, in the same room, and which, for the first time, will be integrated into an anthological itinerary and in close dialogue with other works by the master.

Promoted by the Comune di Milano-Cultura and produced by Palazzo Reale with Electa, the project is curated by Chiara Gatti and Roberta Cerini Baj and features almost fifty works spanning a time period from the early 1950s to the dawn of the 2000s, covering the artist’s phases of research and involvement with different movements over time: from the recovery of the Dada movement and Surrealism to the modes of Informal art, from the proximity to the Nordic CoBrA group to the genesis of the Nuclear art movement, which Baj founded in Milan with Sergio Dangelo in 1951. Starting from the gestural abstraction of his beginnings, passing through the birth of his larval anthropomorphic figures and the eruption of the liquefied mountains in the magmatic body of the Generals, the exhibition will touch on the parody of extraterrestrial invasions to arrive at the Meccano army and the animated world of chests of drawers and trumeaus.

His characters, which have entered popular imagination, Dames and Generals, Ultrabodies, Mirrors, Furniture and the monsters of the Apocalypse will animate a carousel of creatures from the surrealist and sci-fi universe of an artist who used irony and the grotesque as a tool to dismantle bourgeois conformism and take a stand against all forms of established power.

His famous aesthetics of trinkets and trimmings, of tassels and shiny buttons like insignia on the truncated chests of his emblazoned soldiers, will be the thread that will stitch together, in sections, the enormous themes of Baj’s poetics, freed from a rigid chronological sequence or genre, with continuous cross-references between art and literature, colours and words, following a sort of script that will suggest a theatrical time and space to the spectator, given even the setting.

Mondadori Group, Italy’s largest book publisher, presents Audiobooks in the Dark, a sensory journey dedicated to the accessibility and inclusiveness of audio storytelling.

The initiative, which will take place on Monday 23 September at Fondazione Istituto dei Ciechi in Milan, Via Vivaio 7, aims to raise awareness of the importance of universal, inclusive access to culture and reading through the potential of audio books.

Participants will experience an immersive journey developed in collaboration with the Foundation, in which listening will be the key feature.

The event is dedicated to audiobook listeners of all ages, but also to enthusiasts, people curious to experience this type of reading and anyone who loves stories and wants to discover a new way to access them.

Event Schedule

‘Audiobooks in the Dark’ will be held in three sessions on Monday 23 September at 3 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm.
Each session will begin with a talk on audiobooks by special guests, including Chiara Anicito — a writer, content creator and reader of audiobooks by Cristina Cassar Scalia (Einaudi author) — and Martina Levato — a content creator and audiobook voice who will present a preview of the audiobook of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Mondadori).
Linus, a radio presenter and voice of the audiobook What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami Haruki (Einaudi), will also be present at the 3 pm and 5 pm talks.
The meeting will be moderated by Alessandro Barbaglia, an author, podcaster and audiobook narrator. Barbaglia is one of the authors of the Ossigeno series by Mondadori Ragazzi, which offers a series of highly readable stories for middle school children accustomed to quick forms of narration, from social media to video games to TV series. In their audiobook format, the titles in the series acquire an additional level of accessibility, so that everyone can enjoy them.

At the end of the event, participants will be guided through the unique experience of Dialogue in the Dark, presented by the Fondazione Istituto dei Ciechi. In this unique opportunity, people can experience how they can interact with the world around them without sight, deepening the crucial role of the senses in everyday experience.

Participation is free of charge: booking is necessary via the website EventBrite. Places at each session are limited.

Link to Dialogue in the Dark
https://www.dialogonelbuio.org/index.php/it/il-percorso