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.

The Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., which met today under the Chairmanship of Marina Berlusconi, approved the company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2010 and deliberated, in line with a proposal resolved by the board of directors on 21 March and previously communicated to the market, to distribute a dividend, net of taxation, of €0.17 for each ordinary share (net of treasury stock) in circulation of the date appointed for coupon detachment.
Dividends will be payable from 26 May 2011 (coupon detachment from 23 May 2011).

In his report to the shareholders, the deputy chairman and chief executive Maurizio Costa outlined the highlights of the group’s performance during 2010, already announced on 21 March.

RENEWAL OF AUTHORISATION FOR THE BUY-BACK AND UTILISATION OF COMPANY SHARES
Following the expiry of the term fixed for the authorisation issued at the Annual General Meeting of 27 April 2010, the shareholders renewed authorisation to effect share buy-backs, up to the 15% of the share capital, the equivalent of 38,914,474 ordinary shares.
By taking account of the shares previously in the portfolio, the total number of shares comprising treasury stock is now 22,367,587 (8,62% of the share capital), of which. 17,850,101 are held directly in the Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. portfolio and 4,517,486 are held by the subsidiary Mondadori International S.A., the authorisation allows for the purchase of an additional maximum of 16,546,887 shares.
It should be noted that, with regard to the authorisation of 27 April 2010, the company made no buy backs, given that the market conditions were not in line with the authorisation itself.
The shareholders also authorised, as per Art. 2357 of the Civil Code, the use of shares involved in such buy back operations or already in the company’s portfolio.

In line with the provisions of art. 144 bis of Consob regulation 11971/1999, what follows is an outline of the buy-back programme authorised by the Shareholders:

• Underlying motivation

The renewal of authorisation for the buy-back and utilisation of company shares is aimed at maintaining the legal conditions for eventual further buy-back plans and, as a result, the possibility of taking advantage of investment opportunities or other treasury stock operations, giving to the board of directors the specific faculties to:
– use company shares for the exercise of options for the purchase of shares assigned to participants in the stock option plans put in place by the shareholders;
– use company shares, either bought or in the portfolio, for the exercise of rights, including conversion rights, deriving from financial instruments issued by the company, its subsidiaries or third parties;
– use company shares, either bought or in the portfolio, as part or whole payment in any eventual acquisitions or equity investments that fall within the company’s stated investment policy;
– take advantage, where and when considered strategic for the company, of investment opportunities, also in relation to available liquidity.

• Duration

Until the approval of the 2011 Annual Report.

• Cap on the number of shares that may be bought

In line with the expiring authorisation, the renewal concerns the possible acquisition of an additional 16,546,887 ordinary shares which, taking account of the shares already either directly or indirectly held in the portfolio, as outlined above, allows for the purchase of up to 15% of the share capital.
Following the cancellation of 12,971,492 shares, and the consequent reduction of the capital, as resolved by the Shareholders in extraordinary session, the authorisation will permit the buy-back of up to a total of 10.52% of the share capital.

• Method of acquisition and the price range

Buy backs would be effected on regulated markets as per art. 132 of the legislative decree of 24 February 1998 n. 58 and art. 144 bis, para. 1, B of Consob regulation 11971/99 according to operating procedures established by the regulations for the organisation and management of the markets themselves, which, does not permit the direct combination of offers to buy with predetermined offers to sell.
The corresponding minimum and maximum price of sale will therefore be determined at the same conditions that applied to previous authorisations agreed by the Shareholders, i.e. at a unit price not less than the official market price on the day prior to any operation, less 20%, and not more than the official market price on the day prior to any operation, plus 10%.
In terms of price and daily volumes, acquisition operations will in any case be conducted in line with the norms foreseen by the EU regulation 2273/2003, in particular:
– the company will not buy shares at a price greater that the highest price of the last independent operation and the price of the highest current independent offer on the regulated market where the acquisition is made.
– in terms of daily volumes, the company will not purchase a quantity greater than 25% of the average daily volume of Mondadori shares traded on the regulated market and calculated on the basis of the average daily volume of trading of Mondadori shares in the 20 trading days prior to the dates of purchase.
Any operations that are effected will be communicated to the market as per the terms of art. 87bis, of Consob regulation 11971/1999.

CANCELLATION OF PART OF THE TREASURY STOCK HELD AND CORRESPONDING TO 5% OF THE SHARE CAPITAL
As indicated above, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. directly holds 17,850,101 company shares, equivalent to 6.88% of the share capital and acquired at an average price of around €6.1697 per share.

The Shareholders, meeting in extraordinary session, approved a proposal for the cancellation of 12,971,492 shares, with a nominal value of €0.26 per share, and corresponding to 5% of the share capital, while keeping in the portfolio, also to service stock option plans, 4,878,609 shares, in addition to the 4,517,486 held by Mondadori International.

The proposal to cancel a part of the shares held as treasury stock is explained by the fact that, in recent years, there have not been opportunities to use such stock as foreseen by the authorisations made by the shareholders, such as share swaps or conversions in financial instruments.

Following the cancellation, and the consequent reduction in the number of shares making up the share capital, would – while maintaining the necessary solidity to support future growth objectives – result in the optimisation of the company’s capital structure and have a positive impact in terms of increasing both earnings per share and dividend per share.

In terms of the impact on the company’s accounts, the “treasury stock”, in compliance with international accounting principles booked as a reduction in net assets, would be reduced by around €80,030,000, against a reduction in the share capital of a nominal €3,372,587.92 – corresponding to 12,971,492 shares with a cancelled nominal value of €0.26 – and a reduction of the “share premium reserve” of around €76,658,000.
The reduction in the share capital approved by the Shareholders will become effective, subject to no objections being submitted, only after a period of ninety days from the registration of the resolution, as foreseen by article 2445 of the Italian Civil Code.

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).

Interni Mutant Architecture & Design is the name of a large exhibition-event created and organised by the Mondadori monthly Interni, edited by Gilda Bojardi, with the patronage of the City of Milan, and co-produced by Enel and MINI, to be held in the courtyards of the University of Milan, from 11 to 23 April, and coinciding with the Milan design week (11-17 April 2011).
The exhibition will be open to the public from Monday 11 to Sunday 17 April, from 9 am to midnight; from Monday 18 to Friday 22 April, from 9 am to 9 pm and on Saturday 23 April, from 10 am to 4 pm.

Interni Mutant Architecture & Design reflects on an architecture that mutates – in the perception of the physicality of the materials used, over time and in different locations – and that is characterised by enormous flexibility. With experimental INSTALLATIONS, the exhibition offers and large and spectacular composition that benefits form the collaboration of some of the leading companies in design and architecture. The larger works are on display in a number of spaces of the University of Milan in Via Festa del Perdono 7, in the Cortile d’Onore, the fifteenth and seventeenth century courtyards and the galleries.

A large number of designer, architects and companies have contributed with their projects to Interni Mutant Architecture & Design, including: Zaha Hadid Architects with Lea Ceramiche and Artemide, Ingo Maurer for Enel, Gwenael Nicolas with Deborah Milano, Michele De Lucchi with a special project for L’Aquila, Mario Botta with Mapei, GVM and RIVA 1920, Richard Meier with Italcementie Styl- Comp Group, SnØhetta in collaboration with Paolo Armenise + Silvia Nerbi with CarraraMarmotec, Andres Warming with Mini, Jacopo Foggini with Nice and Giulio Iacchetti with Moleskine.

Included in the Interni Mutant Architecture & Design exhibition there area also a series of DESIGN ISLANDS, ‘urban salons’, places to meet, created and prepared by leaders from the Italian and international furniture and design sector, who present unseen prototypes and items from their latest collections, including: Carlo Colombo with Arflex, Compagnia del Verde and Srtatex, Ron Gilad with De Castelli and Flos, Diego Grandi with Rosenthal and Sambonet, Setzu and Shinobu Ito with Art_Container, Massimo Pierattelli with Arval, Thomas Heatherwick and Sybarite with Marzorati Rochetti, Francesco Lucchese – Caldia Cube with Marmi and Graniti d’Italia Sicilmarmi, Pedro Campos Costa with Amorim Isolamentos, Matteo Ragni with Camparisoda, Lorenzo Palmieri with Lavazza a Modo Mio, Vincenzo de Cotiis with Rossana and Daniela Di Lauro and Massimiliano Dalla Foglia with Do.it Design Outlet Italiano. Among the Design Islands there is also the press-room designed by Simone Micheli with Visionnaire.

Interni Mutant Architecture & Design continues also in Piazza Duomo, in the 8 windows of La Rinascente.
Also during the exhibition-event organised by Interni, a series of special events will be held in the courtyards of the University of Milan, including:

– A keynote address (Lectio Magistralis) by Richard Meier: Saturday 9 April at 11:30 am in the Sala di Rappresentanza of the University of Milan.

– A keynote address (Lectio Magistralis) by Mario Botta: Wednesday 13 April at 4:30 pm in the Aula Magna of the University of Milan.

– A live concert: Tuesday 12 April at 8:00 pm, with sounds by Lorenzo Palmieri, at the University of Milan.

R101 has launched on YouTube the first video campaign to be realised and organised by an Italian radio station exclusively on digital media.

In fact, from Monday 11 April 11 the R101 sit-com “La Carica Quotidiana” will be available on the home page of YouTube. The creative idea of the video is a comic format that has as its protagonists the presenters of “La Carica di 101”, the station’s popular morning show.

In a number of episodes, each lasting about one minute, “La Carica Quotidiana” offers the brilliant humour of “Carica”, with a daily spot on R101 that takes an ironic look at the news of the day.
Paolo Cavallone, Cristiano Militello and Sara find themselves in the shoes of improbable newsagents, struggling with the everyday problem of selling their wares.
In the serial the three presenters are regularly interrupted by the arrival of a customer: and an off-stage voice appears of VIPs, politicians and celebrities (including Massimo Moratti, Roberto Vecchioni, the former minister Sandro Bondi, Lapo Elkann, Jovanotti, Christian De Sica, and others) imitated in the irresistible style of Sergio Sironi and Leonardo Fiaschi.

“2011 continues to be an important year for the station,” declared Fabrizio Savorani, marketing director of Monradio. “After the recent launch of a print-based campaign focused on Marco Balestri, the presenter of ‘Molto Personale’, we decided to turn our attention to another of the station’s successful programmes, the morning show ‘La Carica di 101’, with a new format that reproduces the comic dynamics of the show, as if it were a real a sit-com.” Savorani explained.

“We consequently developed a digital campaign specifically for YouTube, which with its 7 million daily page views will give us huge visibility across a wide target audience in line with the content of our radio show,” he concluded.

The next episodes of “Carica Quotidiana” will be available on YouTube on Tuesday 19 April, Tuesday 27 April, Thursday 5 May, Friday 13 May and the following weeks, with other new episodes.

R101’s digital campaign for YouTube di R101 was developed by the agency Tita. Creativity by art director Annamaria Santoro and copywriter Andrea Masciullo. The episodes were shot by Max Croci and produced by Movie & Arts.

As part of the development strategy of the Group’s Digital area, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. today announced that it has reached an agreement with Fun Gaming S.r.l. (owned by the entrepreneur Marco Bassetti) to establish a new company, 70% of which will be held by Mondadori and 30% by Fun Gaming.

The business of the NewCo – which will have an initial capitalization of €1.2 million – is the provision of an online games offer consistent with the targets and communities of the Mondadori Group’s editorial portfolio.

The start up of these new activities is subordinate to the granting of a public gaming licence by Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (the relevant Italian authorities) in compliance with the public bid announced in the Official Journal of the European Union of 10 March 2011 S 48-079188.