''Il Giornale d'Italia'' is an Italian online newspaper. It was founded in Rome in 1901 by the prestigious liberal politicians

Sidney Sonnino Sidney Costantino, Baron Sonnino (11 March 1847 – 24 November 1922) was an Italian statesman, 19th prime minister of Italy and twice served briefly as one, in 1906 and again from 1909 to 1910. In 1901, he founded a new major newspaper, '' Il Gio ...

and

Antonio Salandra Antonio Salandra (13 August 1853 – 9 December 1931) was a conservative Italian politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Italy between 1914 and 1916. He ensured the entry of Italy in World War I on the side of the Triple Entente (the ...

, both of which were part of the Liberal Constitutional Party. The original paper ceased publication in 1976, following a long decline in sales. It was later relaunched as the party organ of the Movimento Pensionati Uomini Vivi and had a brief revival, only to cease publication again in 2006. The paper was relaunched again, this time as an online publication, on 10 October 2012.

History

Monarchy and fascism

The newspaper was born from an idea of

and

, two political exponents of the liberal Historical Right, and in particular representatives of the component of

Conservative liberalism Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

. Another founder was the Italian journalist Andrea Torre who would serve as the minister of public education in 1919. They chose together the name of the newspaper and its editor; after consulting with

Luigi Albertini Luigi Albertini (19 October 1871–29 December 1941) was an influential Italian newspaper editor, member of the Parliament, and historian of the First World War. As editor of one of Italy's best-known newspapers, ''Corriere della Sera'' of Mila ...

, director of the '' Corriere della Sera'', the choice fell on Alberto Bergamini, who had demonstrated strong organizational skills. In 1901 the editor Alberto Bergamini created the "la Terza Pagina" ("Third Page"), featuring essays in literature, philosophy, criticism, the arts, and politics by eminent intellectuals, including Alessandro D'Ancona, Giuseppe Chiarini, Domenico Gnoli, Raffaele De Cesare,

Antonio Fogazzaro Antonio Fogazzaro (; 25 March 1842 – 7 March 1911) was an Italian novelist and proponent of Liberal Catholicism. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. Biography Fogazzaro was born in Vicenza to a wealthy family. In ...

Luigi Capuana Luigi Capuana (May 28, 1839 – November 29, 1915) was an Italian author and journalist and one of the most important members of the ''verist'' movement (see also ''verismo'' (literature)). He was a contemporary of Giovanni Verga, both having ...

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...

, Cesare De Lollis,

Attilio Momigliano Saint Attilio, one of the legendary martyrs of the Theban Legion, is venerated as a saint in the area of Trino Vercellese, in Piedmont, north-west Italy and commemorated on 28 June. However his cult is no longer officially recognized by the Roma ...

Salvatore Di Giacomo Salvatore Di Giacomo (12 March 1860 – 5 April 1934) was an Italian poet, songwriter, playwright and fascist, one of the signatories to the Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals. Di Giacomo is credited as being one of those responsible for ...

Alfredo Panzini Alfredo Panzini (31 December 1863 – 10 April 1939) was an Italian novelist and lexicographer. Born in Senigallia, Panzini was a student of Giosuè Carducci at the University of Bologna. Panzini worked as a secondary school teacher before becomi ...

Pasquale Villari Pasquale Villari (3 October 1827 – 11 December 1917) was an Italian historian and politician. Early life and publications Villari was born in Naples and took part in the risings of 1848 there against the Bourbons and subsequently fled to Flore ...

and Benedetto Croce. The upscale press quickly followed suit with their own versions. The death of founder Sydney Sonnino in 1922 and a violent Black shirt attack on Bergamini that forced him to resign in 1923, had a devastating impact. The newspaper never recovered its prestige. Folco Testena served as the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Il Giornale d'Italia'' in the 1930s. Until his editorship the paper was a patriotic and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

publication. Then it became a supporter of the fascist regime in Italy. The paper had its headquarters in Rome.

Republic

The abolition of the Italian monarchy was a strong blow to the paper, which was a major supporter of constitutional monarchism. Nonetheless, under the editorship of Santi Savarino, it accepted the Republic and continued to support

conservative liberal Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

positions and was closed to the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor part ...

. During this period, the paper hosted the contributions of several intellectuals, like Father

Luigi Sturzo Luigi Sturzo (; 26 November 1871 – 8 August 1959) was an Italian Catholic priest and prominent politician. He was known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist" and is considered one of the fathers of the Christian democratic platform. He w ...

Aldo Rizzo Aldo Rizzo (24 May 1935 – 9 November 2021) was an Italian politician and magistrate. Biography Born in Palermo in 1935, Rizzo was member of the Independent Left (Italy), Independent Left. He has served as List of mayors of Palermo, Mayor of P ...

, Alberto Sensini, Giano Accame,

Randolfo Pacciardi Randolfo Pacciardi (1 January 1899 – 14 April 1991) was an Italian politician. He was a long-time member of the secular, centre-left Italian Republican Party. An ardent anti-fascist, he lived in exile for many years and was an officer of the ...

and Federico Orlando. During the 1950s and 60s, the paper was owned by the

General Confederation of Italian Industry The General Confederation of Italian Industry ( it, Confederazione generale dell'industria italiana), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italian employers' federation and national chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. It groups together more ...

(ConfIndustria), but in 1969 it was sold to Attilio Monti. The paper gradually went into decline and ceased publications in 1976. In 1980, ''Il Giornale d'Italia'' was bought by Luigi d'Amato, leader of the Movimento Pensionati Uomini Vivi, who turned it into a publication of his party; the paper saw a modest revival under the editorship of Franco Simeoni and Angelo Frignani, but it went again into decline at the end of the 90s and ceased publications in 2006.

Online publication

In 2012, ''Il Giornale d'Italia'' was bought by Francesco Storace, leader of The Right, who revived it as an

online publication Electronic publishing (also referred to as publishing, digital publishing, or online publishing) includes the digital publication of e-books, digital magazines, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. It also includes the editi ...

close to

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...

positions. It had little fortune and it again suspended publications in 2018. In 2020, the paper was bought by Comcast Italia, which relaunched it again as an online newspaper under the leadership of Sergio Luciano. Under the editorship of Luciano, and leader of Giovan Battista Vico, Il Giornale d'Italia became once again close to

positions. In 2021, the 120th anniversary of the paper's foundation were celebrated, in a ceremony that saw the participation of the editor Giovan Battista Vico and the editor of the '' Corriere della Sera'', Luciano Fontana.

References

Sources

Felice Borsato, "Terza pagina: cento anni di giornalismo d'autore", in ''L'Opinione'', January, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Giornale d'Italia 1901 establishments in Italy 1976 disestablishments in Italy Daily newspapers published in Italy Defunct newspapers published in Italy Italian-language newspapers Newspapers published in Rome Newspapers established in 1901 Publications disestablished in 1976