Gigi Vesigna (8 February 1932 – 28 February 2015) was an Italian journalist and writer. Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, the son of a businessman from La Spezia and a schoolteacher from Apulia, at high school Vesigna started writing his first articles for the school newspaper. He began his career in the 1950s as a collaborator of the magazine ''Settimana TV''. In 1961 he became a

Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

employer and began working on the weekly magazine ''Teletutto''. In 1973 he became the director of the magazine ''

TV Sorrisi e Canzoni ''TV Sorrisi e Canzoni'' (''TV Smiles and Songs'') is an Italian weekly listings magazine published in Segrate, Italy. History and profile ''TV Sorrisi e Canzoni'' was established in 1952. Based in Segrate, Milan, the magazine is published by ...

'', bringing the print run from 600,000 copies a week up to 3.3 million copies. Vesigna founded the

Telegatto Telegatto (a composition of ''television'' and ''gatto'', meaning "cat", after the trophy, which is a little statue representing a cat), was an Italian television award first conceived in 1971 following the contest Gran Premio internazionale dell ...

award and the musical event ''Vota la Voce''. In 1985 he founded the cinema monthly magazine ''

Ciak ''Ciak'' is a popular Italian film magazine published in Milan, Italy. It is the most popular film magazine in Italy. The title is the Italian word (also spelled ''ciac'', for a film clapperboard. History and profile ''Ciak'' was established in ...

'', and in 1995 the short-lived newspaper ''Il Telegiornale''. Vesigna was one of the major experts of the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annua ...

, about which he wrote several books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesigna, Gigi 1932 births 2015 deaths Journalists from Milan 20th-century Italian journalists Italian television journalists Italian television writers Male television writers Italian male journalists 20th-century screenwriters Italian male screenwriters Italian magazine editors 20th-century Italian male writers