Founded by the 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori in 1907 to publish the magazine titled Luce!, it soon became an important publisher. Its headquarters are in Milan.
It is controlled by Fininvest, Silvio Berlusconi's family holding company. Marina Berlusconi is the chairman.
Mondadori Award
Between 1989 and 1991, there has been a financial conflict between Silvio Berlusconi and Carlo De Benedetti, two of the largest employers of those years.
In 1988 Berlusconi bought Leonardo Mondadori's (nephew of Arnoldo Mondadori) shares. Mondadori was then owned by three: Berlusconi's Fininvest, Carlo De Benedetti's CIR and the Formenton family (Arnoldo Mondadori's heir).Carlo De Benedetti convinced the Formentons to conclude an agreement that would bring him to obtain the Formenton's shares by 30 January 1991, but in November 1989 the Formenton family sided on Berlusconi's side, allowing him to become the new Mondadori president on 25 January 1990; De Benedetti then protested, claiming its agreement.The three sides took the unanimous decision of an arbitrary award to solve the conflict.
The Arbitrary Award
On 20 June 1990 was the first verdict: the agreement between De Benedetti and Formenton was considered still valid; as a consequence, the Mondadori shares became owned by the CIR (De Benedetti) and Berlusconi left the presidence of the company.
The Appeal
Berlusconi and the Formentons then appealed at the Appeal Court of Rome, which assigned the case to Civil Section I. This section was chaired by Arnaldo Valente and the Judge-Rapporteur was Vittorio Metta. The ruling was made public on 24 January 1991 and nullified the arbitrary award verdict and gave the Mondadori shares back to Berlusconi's Fininvest.
The Trial
In 1995, after receiving some proclamations, the judiciary started investigating the authenticity of the ruling. It turned out that Berlusconi won thanks to the corruption of Judge Vittorio Metta.Vittorio Metta was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2003, but won an appeal in 2005.The Court of Cassation nullified that appeal in 2006, and Vittorio Metta was sentenced to 1 year and 9 months in 2007.Berlusconi hasn't been sentenced. The trial expired for time limit.
Direct : the company owns a chain of bookshops (Mondadori Multicenter, Librerie Mondadori, Librerie Gulliver, Edicolč) and controls in joint venture with Bertelsmann the company Mondolibri, owner of the four Italian book clubs (Euroclub, Club degli Editori, Il Circolo, Club per Voi) and of the internet-based bookshop Bol.it.
Radio : R101 and the defunct local radio station Rock FM.
Other activities (Newspapers, Mondadori International)
The group today includes nine distinct publishing houses, a number of which have more than one imprint:
Edizioni Mondadori
Founded in 1907 by Arnoldo Mondadori in Ostiglia, but based in Milan since 1919, Edizioni Mondadori became one of the best-known Italian book publishers, with early collaborations with Disney and the Il Giallo Mondadori series of mystery/crime novels.
Giulio Einaudi editore
Founded in 1933 by Giulio Einaudi in Turin, this also became one of the most significant Italian publishing houses of the twentieth century. Its authors included Cesare Pavese, Elio Vittorini, Italo Calvino and Leone Ginzburg, and it was the publisher of Antonio Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks. It was acquired by Mondadori in 1994.
Edizioni EL
Based in Trieste and publishing children’s books under the imprints EL, Einaudi Ragazzi and Emme Edizione.
Sperling & Kupfer
Acquired by Mondadori in the 1980s, this publishing house founded in 1899 is one of the oldest publishing houses in Milan. Its traditional international focus, and concentration on current affairs, has been supplemented in recent years by publications in fiction, non-fiction, economics, manuals and popular science. Its imprints include Frassinelli, and Mondadori Informatica.
Piemme Publishing Group
Particularly active in the area of books for children, and based in Casale Monferrato.
Mondadori Electa
A group based in Milan with three imprints: Electa, active in the art and history of art sector since 1945; Mondadori, which publishes illustrated books in areas such as nature, hobbies and history as well as tourist guides; and Mondadori Arte, intended to present art, architecture, design and archeology to non-specialist audiences.
Mondadori Education
formerly Edumond Le Monnier, acquired in 2008 and based in Milan, Bologna and Florence.
Harlequin Mondadori, Milan
A joint venture with Harlequin Enterprises specializing in fiction for women and based in Milan.
Grupo Editorial Random House Mondadori
Based in Barcelona, this publishing house also has operations in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia and plans to target the Spanish-speaking market in the United States.
