Type | Daily newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Broadsheet |
Owner(s) | Caltagirone Editore |
Publisher | Il Messaggero S.p.A. |
Editor | Massimo Martinelli |
Founded | 1878 |
Political alignment | Liberal conservatism Formerly: Fascism (1925–1944) Anti-communism |
Language | Italian |
Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
Country | Kingdom of Italy (1878–1946) Italy (since 1946) |
Circulation | 91,012 (2012) |
Sister newspapers | Corriere Adriatico Il Mattino |
ISSN | 1126-8352 |
Website | Il Messaggero |
Il Messaggero (English: "The Messenger") is an Italian daily newspaper based in Rome, Italy. It has been in circulation since 1878. It is one of the main national newspapers in Italy.[1]
Il Messaggero was founded in December 1878.[2][3][4] On 1 January 1879, the first issue of Il Messaggero was published,[2] under the management of Luigi Cesana.[5] The paper aimed at being the newspaper of newspapers and at providing its readers with all opinions and all events.[2] The first four copies of the paper were delivered as free samples to the subscribers of the newspaper, Il Fanfulla.[2] One of the early editors-in-chief of Il Messaggero was Alberto Cianca,who resigned from the post due to political reasons.[6]
Since its inception, Il Messaggero has been owned by different companies.[5] One of the former owners is Montedison through the Ferruzzi Group.[7][8] In 1996 the paper was acquired by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone.[5] He founded the Caltagirone Editore in 1999.[5] The company is the majority owner of the paper[9] which has its 90%.[10] Its leaders include Azzurra Caltagirone, the partner of the political leader Pierferdinando Casini, on its board. The company also owns Corriere Adriatico[11] and Il Mattino.[9] The publisher of the daily is Il Messaggero S.p.A.[12]
Il Messaggero is published in broadsheet format[13][14] and is based in Rome.[7][15] In addition to its national edition the paper has 12 local editions, including those for the regions of Lazio, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo and Tuscany.[5]
The 1988 circulation of Il Messaggero was 370,000 copies.[7] It was the sixth best-selling Italian newspaper in 1997 with a circulation of 256,400 copies.[16] The paper had a circulation of 288,000 copies in 1999.[17]
In 2000 the circulation of the paper was 292,000 copies.[18] Its circulation was 293,000 copies in 2001[19] and 258,538 copies in 2002.[10] The circulation of the paper was 252,000 copies in 2003[12] and 240,778 copies in 2004.[20] The paper had a circulation of 230,697 copies in 2005.[21] Its circulation was 216,000 copies in 2007.[22]
In 2012 Il Messaggero sold 91,012,767 copies.[23]