Mondadori has expanded its digital Virtual History series with a new iPad application: the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

The app has an innovative format, the key strength of the Virtual History products, that allows users to discover the secrets of works of art through a 360° journey, featuring 3D illustrations and, in the case of the Last Supper, the possibility to learn about a number of unknown elements about the masterpiece by the genius of the Italian renaissance.

Thanks to this new application it is possible to discover details about the painting technique used by the Tuscan master – the preparation of the plaster, the preparatory designs, the landscape, the gestures of the guests at the table – and to understand the background surrounding the invention of perspective, the core of the cultural revolution of the Renaissance.
The work is put into its historical context, which makes it possible to learn a great deal about fifteenth century Milan and the relationship that Leonardo da Vinci had with both the city itself and its governors.

But the Last Supper is above all famous for the mysteries that have always surrounded it and which have contributed to the worldwide renown of the work. An entire chapter of the app is dedicated to the “Mysteries of the Code”, with sections that compare the different theories that have been developed over the centuries.
Finally, a specific guided tour takes visitors through the history of the Last Supper post-Leonardo right up to the Pinin Brambilla restoration that, just a few decades ago, returned the masterpiece to its ancient glory.

“After the success of Virtual History – Rome, which won wide acclaim also in the USA, we are delighted to present a new app that will help users to appreciate the smallest details of a work of global cultural significance in an experience that combines learning, games and discovery,” declared Vittorio Veltroni, general manager of Mondadori Digital.
“Virtual History gives life to a new form of spreading knowledge and culture that is accessible to everyone: families, students, teachers, tourists and art lovers who will now be able to really get inside the mysteries of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, and to see the work with new eyes and in ways made possible by the use of innovative technologies,” concluded Veltroni.

As with the “Virtual History – Rome” app, Mondadori has worked together with Applix, using its proprietary “bubble viewer” technology, created and developed in Italy and patented in the USA, which enhances the sensors in tablet-type devices (accelerometer and compass) to create a new generation of illustrations in the form of a digital bubble. The use of this technology, which offers and “immersive” experience, transforms the iPad into a sort of telescope, allowing the user to explore a virtual world projected around people. The “Last Supper” is the second in the “Virtual History” series and is available from the Apple App Store, in Italian and English, at €7.99.

Mondadori and Vodafone Italia are launching the first digital newsstand for tablet devices: an authentic aggregator for digital magazines that will provide access to Italy’s best magazines and, with the Bol.it, to more than 110,000 ebooks.

Two markets with great potential side by side: the media industry, which in Italy, between digital and “physical” is worth around €21 billion (Source: PWC “Entertainment & Media Outlook in Italy) and a sector that is undergoing a profound transformation. At the same time, the mobile telecoms sector, currently worth about €21 billion (Source: Deutsche Bank), has been involved in the rapid spread of the most advanced communication services and devices, creating the conditions for the development of new ways of exploiting a vast array of content.

Mondadori and Vodafone, both market leaders, have combined their efforts to offer their customers and readers the most effective way of accessing paid content. The partnership opens the way to an innovative model in which digital editorial content will be made available on all kinds of device (tablets and smartphones), regardless of the operating system or technology.

With this agreement Mondadori and Vodafone will, from the beginning of June, open a digital newsstand with all of Italy’s leading magazines: from the start it will be possible to download for free, on devices running the Android operating system, six digital editions of Panorama, Panorama Economy and Grazia; other titles will be added from summer the weeklies Chi, Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni, Donna Moderna and Tu Style and the monthlies Cucina Moderna, Casaviva, Panoramauto and Pc Professionale.
And through an application for Bol.it – the Italian online bookstore with over 6 million products including books, CDs, DVDs, games and ebooks, Vodafone clients will also be able to access a catalogue of over 110,000 digital books, available at a 30% discount.

Vodafone Italia, which already since last summer has developed solutions to accompany the world of publishing towards a new business model for paid digital content, aims to be the best possible partner for digital media with its portfolio of products that is a model of excellent service with pre and post sales assistance and advice at all points of contact with the client and a network performance that makes them available always and everywhere.

Mondadori’s Digital area, which was created in September 2010 and is focused on the development of the publishing market through technology, is concentrating on the dual effort of creating new areas of business and the digital distribution of magazines, books and the Group’s other editorial products. In addition to its e-commerce and digital multimedia activities, the Digital area has recently added the development of applications for mobile devices.

“In a world in which cultural consumption is increasing and permeating the physical and digital lives of people, ensuring that access to content is easy and ubiquitous is part of the role of a publisher,” underlined Maurizio Costa, deputy chairman and chief executive of the Mondadori Group. “Increasing the value of what Mondadori can give to its customers/readers is at the heart of our development policies, and we are creating partnerships with telecom operators, device manufacturers and the leading internet brands precisely to ensure that customers can have access and buying opportunities everywhere. In this sense, the agreement with Vodafone is an important stage in the construction of our growth strategy,” Costa concluded.

“This agreement with Mondadori is a key element in our strategy,” stated Paolo Bertoluzzo, chief executive of Vodafone Italia, “because it is based on an open and horizontal model that allows us to offer, regardless of the type of device or operating system, not only digital newspapers, but also the widest range of magazines and ebooks. 2011 is the year of the tablet and the spread of these products will encourage the evolution of the business models of media companies. We want to facilitate this process by providing the best solutions in terms of connectivity, service, assistance and payment systems,” concluded Bertoluzzo.

The magazines available on the digital newsstand can be purchased easily and securely with telephone credit and a click, using one’s telephone number and password.
To make access to the digital newsstand and Bol.it simpler for customers, an application will be pre-installed on tables and available from “Vodafone Apps” where all applications of Vodafone and its partners (magazines, Bol.it, and newspapers) can be downloaded directly onto any device.

Panoramaeconomy.com, the new website, in English and aimed at the American market, of the Mondadori business weekly edited by Giorgio Mulè was presented on Thursday 5 May in New York, during the Italian Innovation Day.

The meeting, for which Panorama Economy is an official partner, also involved Fedele Confalonieri, the chairman of Mediaset, and Fulvio Conti, chief executive of Enel.

Panoramaeconomy.com is the new frontier of Made in Italy and has been developed with the aim of promoting the development of start-ups and to enhance the image and prospects of Italian businesses in the United States and to inform US investors about the points of excellence and innovation in the Italian economy.

The new site will offer users across the ocean background detail and case histories from the weekly Panorama Economy. The articles will be translated into English and updated daily. The essential and authoritative layout will highlight the immediate accessibility of the most important content, organised along thematic lines: Case Study, People, Opinions, Education and Facts.

Once registered, users will be able to comment on the articles, receive constant updates through the newsletter and, above all, will have the advantage of access to the download area, which will include reports, statistics and significant data about business and companies.

This publishing initiative has been developed in collaboration with Why Italy Matters to the World, the company founded by Fernando Napolitano on the basis of years of experience of the Mind the Bridge Foundation for the promotion of innovation at Italian companies; it also enjoys the support of the Italian Consulate General in New York and the Italian Embassy in Washington.

Tu Style in the City is the itinerant tour on the lookout for the coolest female looks in the streets of six Italian cities look (Verona, Padua, Bologna, Florence, Ancona and Naples) proposed by Tu Style, the Mondadori women’s weekly, edited by Marisa Deimichei has a marked orientation towards shopping,

At every stage Tu Style in the City a photographer, a stylist from the magazine’s editorial staff and a guerrilla fashion team will scour the most fashionable streets of the cities, engaging women in the creation of an on-the-road style laboratory. All of the outfits photographed will be posted on Tu Style’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/home.php#!/tustylemagazine) and the coolest, selected by the editorial staff, will be published in the magazine.

The innovative format of Tu Style in the City allows readers to have a direct experience of the magazine’s fashion soul with an open-air fashion set.
After Verona, Padua, Bologna and Florence, the Tu Style in the City tour will move to Ancona (6 and 7 May) and Naples (13 and 14 May).

Each stage of the initiative takes place from Friday, from 11 am to 6:30 pm, and Saturday from 11 am to 8 pm, where women, showing off the most glamorous looks, can be photographed by the Tu Style fashion team in Ancona (Corso Mazzini – Corso Garibaldi – Corso Stamira) and in Naples (on Friday 13 May at Chiaia and on Saturday 14 May at the Vomero).

Mondadori is marking the beatification of Pope John Paul II with an iPad application Papa Wojtyla, and a special collector’s edition of Epoca.
The historic magazine, which in 1950 gave Italy its first taste of a new kind of journalism made up of investigations and reportage with photography as the protagonist, is back in print with a special edition, Il Papa Santo, which in 148 pages covers the long papacy of Karol Wojtyla.

The special monographic edition recounts the religious, political and spiritual path of a man who led the Catholic Church for 27 years, through the most moving and touching images and the first-hand accounts of many who met and knew him, including his personal secretary, Stanislao Dziwisz, his press spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the writer and essayist Vittorio Messori, the historian Andrea Riccardi, the journalist Jas Gawronski and the former speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Pier Ferdinando Casini.
The features and reports published by Epoca are enhanced by extracts form articles from the magazine’s extraordinary historical archive – which followed step by step the entire papacy of John Paul II – and editorial by Sergio Romano, Giuliano Ferrara and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.

The collectors’ edition of Epoca is also available in a special version for the iPad of Papa Wojtyla, available also in English and Spanish. The app which includes all of the content of the print version of Epoca, is enhanced by animations, audio and video material and an innovative navigation tool that makes it possible to get the maximum from the images.

“Matrimonio-reale” is the special site created by Mondadori to follow one of the most anticipated events of recent years: the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William.

On Friday 29 April, at Westminster Abbey in London, the second in line to the British crown will get married and by logging on to www.matrimonio-reale.it you can get live coverage of this extraordinary event, made even more special by the participation of Alfonso Signorini, who will comment on some of the most significant moments.

On the day of the wedding the site will provide live streaming coverage, from 9 am to 2:30 pm (CET) of the entire ceremony, following the procession minute by minute, the street parties and the happy couple as they make their way to Buckingham Palace. The coverage will also be enhanced with live blogs and photos taken in real time by a special correspondent in London.

www.matrimonio-reale.it will allow all enthusiasts to watch step by step the arrival of the big day with special content, reports about the story of the couple and contributions from Donnamoderna.com, Chi, Cosmopolitan.it, Grazia.it, Panorama.it and Bol.it with video snapshots by Alfonso Signorini reading extracts from the book La favola di William e Kate (Mondadori), which he has written along with Azzurra Della Penna.

There will also be a number of “royal” curiosities online on www.matrimonio-reale.it: quizzes, interactive games, a photo-gallery of images and “Nozze reali viste dal mondo”, a section that brings together a series of articles published about the royal couple in the various editions of Grazia around the world, from the UK to Australia, and from China to France.

It will also be possible to share and comment on the content of www.matrimonio-reale.it on the social networks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The site can be accesses from a PC or on mobile using an iPhone, iPad, tablet or smartphone.

Friday 29 April sees the launch of Panorama Icon, a new magazine dedicated to fashion and lifestyle from the weekly newsmagazine Panorama, edited by Giorgio Mulè.

Panorama Icon presents the contemporary man and the icons that represent him through the vision of photographers, journalists and stylists of everything that is style and trends in fashion, art, business, design, architecture and culture.

The magazine, edited by Emanuele Farneti, is aimed at readers interested in new lifestyles, trends, travel, consumer goods and the discovery of the secrets of the excellence of Made in Italy. The images are one of magazine’s strong points: extensive fashion services, reports and portraits by leading Italian and international photographers.

For the cover of the first issue Panorama Icon has selected a great icon of international cinema, Vincent Cassel.

The magazine also boasts among its contributors some of the most prestigious international names in fashion, lifestyle and news. Exclusively for Italy, Suzy Menkes, the world’s most celebrated fashion columnist, will write for Panorama Icon. The last page will be given over to an authentic icon of Italian style, Anna Piaggi, who will recreate her historic “Anna-chronique” column; one of the leading British journalists, Luke Leitch, fashion editor of The Daily Telegraph, will do exclusive interviews with personalities from the fashion system; Carlo Rossella in ”Maschile Singolare” will reveal the secrets of the protagonists of international style and elegance; and Vittorio Feltri will explore the must haves of the male wardrobe in “Capi Indiscussi”. Among the names featured in the first issue are the journalist-writers Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and Marco Ferrante, art critic Francesco Bonami, music critic Riccardo Bertoncelli, film critic Gianni Canova, lifestyle expert Cesare Cunaccia, and the writer Marina Valensise. The title’s fashion director is Andrea Tenerani.

Panorama Icon has already been appreciated by the advertising market with sales of 125 pages in the first issue, which has a total pagination of 276 pages. A number of companies have also decided to plan their future campaigns in subsequent issues of the magazine during the rest of the year.

“The launch of Panorama Icon will allow us to reinforce our presence in the male fashion segment, with a product that is increasingly in line with the needs of companies operating at the upscale end of the market,” claimed Angelo Sajeva, chairman and chief executive of Mondadori Pubblicità. “We are very proud of the result we have achieved and particularly satisfied by the positive reaction of advertisers in the fashion and beauty sector, traditionally very conscious of the image and prestige of a title,” Sajeva concluded.

Panorama Icon is marked by an elegant look and high qualitative level, thanks to a large format (23 cm x 28.5 cm), that highlights the impact of the photographs and with a cover with an unseen tactile effect that combines matt and gloss.

The launch of the magazine will be supported by an advertising campaign planned on national newspapers, Mondadori magazines and titles in the sector.

Grazia.it, the new site of the women’s weekly Grazia, is now online. Grazia.it is a dynamic, interactive contemporary container full of novelty and voices that discuss Italian style and the very latest trends in fashion beauty and lifestyle with personality and irony.

The weekly’s new site is characterised by the “It factor” which has two meanings: first of all, it refers to Italy, a country with a huge influence on the world of fashion, beauty and design. And It in the sense of “in fashion”, and Grazia.it is the site of reference for fashion addicts.

Grazia.it is completely new, in its content, look and interface. Big, colourful images are the real protagonists of the site, while content, produced by bloggers, photographers, digital artists and professionals from the sector, alternates with detailed coverage by the weekly’s editorial staff and, of course, audio files of interviews and video clips of the magazine’s guests, all of which is coordinated by Tamu McPherson – head of Grazia.it.

Grazia.it is approachable and easy to use thanks to fast and flexible menu, along with traditional vertical and horizontal navigation, similar to flicking through a magazine. The aim is to make the user’s experience as immediate and straightforward as possible.

Grazia.it is online in 4 sections:

– It Fashion is the heart of the site: fashion viewed as a game, something that is fun, joyous and light-hearted. The new trends, cult accessories and what’s right if you want to become an icon of style.
– It Beauty: all of the latest beauty and wellbeing products and advice, with special attention to the most recent research in cosmetics.
– Magazine: a channel reserved for the content of Grazia, the editorials and comments of the columnists, more detailed coverage by the editorial staff, the magazine’s big investigations and surveys, audio files of interviews and video clips of the magazine’s guests.
– It Culture: a window on Italian and international lifestyle, to keep you always up to speed on what’s happening in art, events and entertainment.

Grazia.it will also soon be expanded with other new features and content, from shopping suggestions to daily tips to inspire you. Blogs will also have extensive space to share new ideas with the readers of the magazine, as well as daily fashion updates straight from the web.

And of course, Tamu McPherson’s take on the world of fashion and the latest trends.

Grazia.it, whose creative director is Macs Iotti. is accessible on a PC, iPhone and iPad, and you can also interact with the social networks Facebook and Twitter directly from the homepage.

From June Casaviva, the Mondadori interiors monthly, will also be published in Ukraine, the result of a licensing agreement with Sanoma Media Ukraine.

This new international edition of the magazine is part of the process of the expansion of Mondadori brands in the world’s leading markets, particularly Eastern Europe and the Far East, that are highly receptive to the successful mix that has long characterised Casaviva. Since 1973 a leading interpreter of the style and quality of Italian furniture, the monthly aims to become a reference point also in the Ukraine for lovers of interior design in search of exclusive solutions and creative ideas for their living spaces.

Casaviva Ukraine will join the other editions of the magazine published every month around the world besides Italy: Thailand, India, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. Casaviva is also present in China, thanks to the collaboration of the magazine Rayli Home.

Donna Moderna and the Vodafone Foundation Italy presented in Rome, at the Auditorium dell’Ara Pacis, the winners of the “Women & Work Project”, for the best ideas for women’s social enterprise with total prize money of €300,000.

The winners
The initiative by Donna Moderna and the Vodafone Foundation Italy attracted entries from a great number of women who put together hundreds of projects for the creation of various forms of women’s social enterprise.
The rules of the competition laid out three main areas of interest:

– Home & Work. Getting better organised for ideas for the improved management and conciliation of professional and family demands in women’s daily lives;

– Solidarity. Lending a hand for the elaboration of proposals aimed at getting more women who have been subjected to abuse or live in difficult situations into work.

– Web. Let’s get online for web projects or those involving telecommunications and aimed at providing incentives for female employment.

The selection was made on the basis of over 270 projects submitted, of which 50% were dedicated to the conciliation of home and work.
Among the many projects received, special attention was given to issues of environmental sustainability and the creation of forms of aggregation to put women in contact with each other on the basis of common interests.

The best projects in each of the three categories were awarded with the sum of €100,000.

Emma Bonino, Federica Guidi and Barbara Palombelli awarded the prizes to the three winning projects:

1) “Pratice the future” (San Giuliano Milanese – MI)
In the Home & Work section, the stand-out project was “Practice the future”, characterised by its focus on environmental sustainability and the different needs of women in the home.
The proposal was created with the objective of consolidating and structuring a range of services for children (summer camps, after school, open days for private bodies and schools) in the context of the activities of the association Cascina Santa Brera, with activities aimed at working mothers that place particular attention on healthy and eco-sustainable living.

2)“ Baby-lab Coop” (San Sebastiano al Vesuvio – NA)
The winner in the Solidarity section was “Baby-lad Coop”, a project that “aims to help women in difficulty into work. The proposal is based on the creation of a strong network of partnerships across the Naples area. The objective is to establish a social cooperative of women made up of the three proposing members and a number of volunteers, together with ex-prisoners who, following initial training and a process of selection, will be able to contribute to the management of social activities comprising laboratories for children (after-school and pre-school) and parents-children.

3) “Womenpride” (Turin / Lecce)
The prize in the Web section went to “Womenpride”, which was able to combine the use of web technologies with the needs of women to combine work and family. The project involves the creation of a web platform that can offer women with children the possibility of conciliating work and family and to create opportunities for to bring women together online, creating groups that share interest and hobbies.

During the award ceremony there was also a debate on the theme of “Women’s social enterprise: a possible dream”. Taking part in the discussion were: Senator Emma Bonino, deputy speaker of the Italian Senate; Federica Guidi, President of young entrepreneurs of the Italian federation of industry; the journalist Barbara Palombelli; the Hon. Alessia Mosca, Secretary of the Labour Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
The accent during the meeting was on the need to increase the involvement of women in the workplace in a country where the female unemployment rate is still stuck at 46.4% (Source: ISTAT).