Arrigo Benedetti
Encyclopedia
Arrigo Benedetti was an Italian
journalist and writer. He also was the editor of important news magazines: Oggi
(1939–1941), L'Europeo
(1945–54), L'Espresso
(1955–63), and Il Mondo (1969–72).
, in Tuscany
(Italy). In 1937 he moved to Rome where he joined his study friend Mario Pannunzio. Both started to work the weekly Omnibus edited by Leo Longanesi. Omnibus was suppressed by Mussolini
’s Fascist regime
two years later. Benedetti and Pannunzio founded Oggi in 1939 until its suppression in 1941. In December 1943 he was arrested, but managed to escape when the prison was hit by an Allied bombardment. He moved to Milan and joined the resistance
against the German
occupying forces and the Mussolini-led Italian Social Republic
(Repubblica Sociale Italiana
).
In November 1945 he launched the news magazine L'Europeo
with Gianni Mazzocchi. A journalist of particular importance himself, he created the so-called "Benedetti school of journalism" with journalists such as Tommaso Besozzi
, Enzo Biagi
, Giorgio Bocca
, Oriana Fallaci
and Indro Montanelli
. The magazine paid special attention to photographic image and documentary photography
. According to Benedetti: “People look at articles, but read the photos” (Gli articoli si guardano, le fotografie si leggono).
In 1953 the Rizzoli
publishing company bought the publication, when during the Korean War
the original publisher was not able anymore to cover rising expenses. The price of paper surged from 100 to 280 lire per kilogram. The original editor Benedetti left the magazine and launched a new weekly, L'espresso
, in October 1955, with Eugenio Scalfari
, and backed by the progressive industrialist Adriano Olivetti
, manufacturer of Olivetti
typewriters.
Benedetti was the editor-in-chief until 1963, when he handed over to Scalfari. L'espresso was characterized from the beginning by an aggressive investigative journalism strongly focussed on corruption and clientelism by the Christian Democrat party. In the 1950s it uncovered major scandals in the health and housing industries. In 1969 Benedetti refounded the weekly newsmagazine Il Mondo, originally founded by his old friend Mario Pannunzio in 1949, but discontinued in 1966.
As a novelist, Benedetti’s narrative style is characterized by a realistic and immediate language often comparerd with Italian neorealist cinema
, in particular in his last book of fiction, Rosso al vento (Red in the Wind), describing life in Italy during World War II
. His meticulous attention to everyday reality is manifest in all his novels from I misteri della città (The Mysterious of the City) (1941) to Gli occhi (Eyes) (1970).
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
journalist and writer. He also was the editor of important news magazines: Oggi
Oggi (magazine)
Oggi is an Italian weekly news and gossip magazine. It has a circulation of around 3 million, making it the best-selling weekly magazine in Italy. It is owned by the RCS media group, edited by Umberto Brindani, and was established in 1945....
(1939–1941), L'Europeo
L'Europeo
L'Europeo was a prominent Italian weekly news magazine launched on November 4, 1945, by the founder-editors Gianni Mazzocchi and Arrigo Benedetti. The magazine stopped publication in 1995.-Orientation:...
(1945–54), L'Espresso
L'Espresso
l'Espresso is an Italian newsmagazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies, the other being Panorama. Since the latter has been acquired by right-wing tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, l'Espresso enjoys the reputation of being the main politically independent newsmagazine...
(1955–63), and Il Mondo (1969–72).
Biography
He was born in LuccaLucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
(Italy). In 1937 he moved to Rome where he joined his study friend Mario Pannunzio. Both started to work the weekly Omnibus edited by Leo Longanesi. Omnibus was suppressed by Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
’s Fascist regime
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
two years later. Benedetti and Pannunzio founded Oggi in 1939 until its suppression in 1941. In December 1943 he was arrested, but managed to escape when the prison was hit by an Allied bombardment. He moved to Milan and joined the resistance
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
against the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupying forces and the Mussolini-led Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
(Repubblica Sociale Italiana
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
).
In November 1945 he launched the news magazine L'Europeo
L'Europeo
L'Europeo was a prominent Italian weekly news magazine launched on November 4, 1945, by the founder-editors Gianni Mazzocchi and Arrigo Benedetti. The magazine stopped publication in 1995.-Orientation:...
with Gianni Mazzocchi. A journalist of particular importance himself, he created the so-called "Benedetti school of journalism" with journalists such as Tommaso Besozzi
Tommaso Besozzi
Tommaso Francesco Besozzi , also known as Tom, was an Italian journalist and writer...
, Enzo Biagi
Enzo Biagi
Enzo Biagi was an Italian journalist and writer.-Biography:Biagi was born in Lizzano in Belvedere, and began his career as a journalist in Bologna. Active in journalism for six decades and author of some eighty books, Biagi won numerous awards, among which the 1979 Saint Vincent prize and the...
, Giorgio Bocca
Giorgio Bocca
Giorgio Valentino Bocca is an Italian essayist and journalist, also known for his participation in the World War II partisan movement.- Biography :...
, Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci was an Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer. A former partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career...
and Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli was an Italian journalist and historian, known for his new approach to writing history in books such as History of the Greeks and History of Rome....
. The magazine paid special attention to photographic image and documentary photography
Documentary photography
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit...
. According to Benedetti: “People look at articles, but read the photos” (Gli articoli si guardano, le fotografie si leggono).
In 1953 the Rizzoli
RCS MediaGroup
RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. , based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, radio broadcasting, new media and digital and satellite TV...
publishing company bought the publication, when during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
the original publisher was not able anymore to cover rising expenses. The price of paper surged from 100 to 280 lire per kilogram. The original editor Benedetti left the magazine and launched a new weekly, L'espresso
L'Espresso
l'Espresso is an Italian newsmagazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies, the other being Panorama. Since the latter has been acquired by right-wing tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi, l'Espresso enjoys the reputation of being the main politically independent newsmagazine...
, in October 1955, with Eugenio Scalfari
Eugenio Scalfari
Eugenio Scalfari is an Italian journalist, editor of the news magazine L'espresso , former member of parliament in the Italian Chamber of Deputies , co-founder of the newspaper La Repubblica and its editor from 1976 to 1996.-Biography:A law graduate with a interest in journalism and politics,...
, and backed by the progressive industrialist Adriano Olivetti
Adriano Olivetti
Adriano Olivetti was an Italian entrepreneur, the son of the founder of Olivetti, Camillo Olivetti....
, manufacturer of Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
typewriters.
Benedetti was the editor-in-chief until 1963, when he handed over to Scalfari. L'espresso was characterized from the beginning by an aggressive investigative journalism strongly focussed on corruption and clientelism by the Christian Democrat party. In the 1950s it uncovered major scandals in the health and housing industries. In 1969 Benedetti refounded the weekly newsmagazine Il Mondo, originally founded by his old friend Mario Pannunzio in 1949, but discontinued in 1966.
As a novelist, Benedetti’s narrative style is characterized by a realistic and immediate language often comparerd with Italian neorealist cinema
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
, in particular in his last book of fiction, Rosso al vento (Red in the Wind), describing life in Italy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. His meticulous attention to everyday reality is manifest in all his novels from I misteri della città (The Mysterious of the City) (1941) to Gli occhi (Eyes) (1970).