Il Messaggero

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]

• List of newspapers in Italy