‘Voting with your feet’, they call it, when they mean you are choosing a place to live and work that offers better conditions, lower taxes, and a guaranteed better quality of life, not to mention free time. It’s an expression often used by young people when deciding where to study, and by migrant populations when searching for a more favourable job market. But the same is true for high-income earners seeking convenient tax havens or lower taxes on their income. In short, people changing where they live to find better working and living conditions. Of course, this is a highly political choice because it involves assessing local public services, the quality of civil administration, labour market opportunities and the relationship between the tax system and services. It also involves considering the general quality of civic life, hospitality and interpersonal relationships. In the US, many often make this choice, even several times over the course of a lifetime.

Now we discover, thanks to a insightful investigation by Chiara Saraceno in ‘La Stampa’, that this habit is spreading. It is no longer confined to young Italians (what we now commonly call the ‘brain drain’) but, (and why not?) older people are joining them, too.

‘Grandparents with suitcases’, reads the headline in La Stampa on 18 February. The article notes that, over the last twenty years, more than 184 thousand people over the age of 75 have left their provincial towns, especially in the south of the country, to live in large and small cities in northern Italy, without officially changing their place of residence. In 2002, they amounted to just under 100 thousand. So why have their numbers almost doubled in twenty years? Their reasons range from healthcare (on average better in the central and northern regions) and help with childcare to support with housing costs, with real estate values all on the rise. An OECD study documents a real ‘youth emergency’: 80% of under-30s live with their parents, and Italy is among the worst off in Europe.  It has the second highest incidence of 20-year-olds who cannot or do not want to live alone,  which is an impressive impoverishment of social capital and expectations for the future.

These support and family assistance practices, which benefit both young children and elderly family members, are building a new picture of Italy. This is an original type of internal migration within the country (and, although not mentioned in the latest Svimez report, there is also a large influx of migrants from abroad, which has had the positive effect of repopulating vast rural areas in the south).

It is worth noting the impact of family reconstitution in northern cities, where there are serious deficiencies in public services for nurseries and elderly care. This places significant demands on local authorities to invest in general social services, which often lack resources due to cuts at the central level.

This migration often goes undetected statistically because ‘grandparents with suitcases’ do not permanently leave their homes in Campobasso, Agrigento or Polignano, where they hope to return in old age after helping to raise their children and grandchildren. However, it also has a significant effect on the evolution of public social structures, as well as on the intersections and blending of traditional practices.

The Svimez Report states  that there is strong territorial polarisation between the north and centre, which act as pull and retention areas for human capital, and the south, which plays a significant role in training the central-northern production system. This has led to further and growing degradation of the south.

In other words, the Report highlights the relatively new phenomenon of ‘early emigration’, whereby many young people from the South no longer see a future in the regions where they were born and have their loved ones. They now move to the centre-north to study at universities, aware that this will make it easier for them to find work and improve their prospects.

And their elderly parents and grandparents will follow.

This is a sign of the reduced attractiveness of the Sistema Paese (the concept that Italy is run and functions as a coherent whole), especially in the Central and Southern regions.  The consequence is a growing  depletion of active resources and even minimal entrepreneurial drive.

In short, beyond the stereotypical portrayal of the country, a profound movement is underway that threatens to alter social conditions and expectations, as well as political and social balance. The cost of this movement is far from insignificant: social and family ties are broken, community balances are altered and even the economic conditions necessary for minimal subsistence are affected. The countryside continues to empty and historic centres are decaying (the recent landslide in the town of Niscemi is just one example).

But anyone who looks in depth at the performance of the Sistema Paese might notice other phenomena of a different nature. For example, in certain areas of the south, young people are staying put, with the new generations interested in tourist and cultural services, as well as in the recovery of quality agriculture linked to high-level tourism. There are also increasing job opportunities for skilled technicians (engineers, computer scientists and mathematicians) in southern Italian cities such as Bari, Naples, Palermo and Catania. These cities are leveraging a new level of university education and ties with corporate headquarters in Milan to provide high-tech services in various international markets, perhaps in connection with the spread of artificial intelligence. While these might be small positive signs, they shouldn’t be overlooked.

It is also worth keeping an eye on the ‘grandparents with suitcases’ and parents who, as soon as they reach retirement age, follow their children to large and medium-sized cities in Central and Northern Italy. A wave of new emigration would radically alter the culture, habits and services in large areas of Italy. This is something that should not be overlooked, especially given the numbers: 185,000 people have moved in the last ten years, which is double the number who moved ten years ago, and this number is constantly growing.

A comprehensive collection of research and studies on industrial heritage is published

Signs of ingenuity and hard work.  Evidence of the desire to do business, of the passing of generations of workers.  Signs of dreams of progress, often realised.  A culture of production and entrepreneurship that materialises in factories and warehouses, offices, and archives.  All of this forms part of the Italian, European and global industrial heritage that we have been trying to promote and pass on for some time now. The substantial collection of research presented at the third edition of the ‘Stati generali del patrimonio industriale’ (General assembly on industrial heritage), which took place in early February 2026 in Bari, Matera, and Lecce, represents a valuable set of examples to learn about and analyses on the subject to explore in greater depth.

The 2026 ‘Stati generali del patrimonio industriale’ continues the process begun in 2018 and aims to ‘provide a comprehensive overview of the technical, economic, cultural, and social heritage linked to production and work throughout Italy.’  The result is a type of ‘catalogue’ of industrial heritage, comprising tangible and intangible evidence of working culture. This addresses the need for knowledge and re-evaluation, not only in academic research, but also within communities and the manufacturing sector.

The collection of surveys reflects the agenda of the three-day study promoted by the Associazione Italiana per il Patrimonio Archeologico Industriale (Italian association for industrial archaeological heritage) (AIPAI) together with a large number of institutions. We begin with a series of studies on machinery and patents, then move on to the relationship between cities and industrial landscapes, touching on the connections between the various social production infrastructures in the area, before arriving at studies that have examined the design of plants and factories in greater depth. Subsequently, the research focuses on the relationship between history, culture, industrial memory, and corporate archives and museums. It then explores the possibilities offered by new technologies and artificial intelligence for the restoration and conservation of existing heritage, the urban and environmental regeneration of factories, and the understanding of this heritage through specialised tourism, imagery and cinematography.

This collection of surveys promoted by AIPAI should not only be preserved, but also carefully read and utilised.

3° Stati generali del patrimonio industriale

Various Authors, February 5-8, 2026, Bari, Matera, Lecce, Gangemi 2026.

When a bookshop closes, especially an old bookshop, there is a wound in the civic body of a city. One less place where you can become familiar with a book. One less place to strike up a surprising conversation about a great book (‘Fontamara,’ for example, or ‘Invisible Cities,’ or, why not, ‘La vita indocile’) or a well-designed cover. One less place to form friendships or even engage in a light literary courtship (perhaps both asking each other, with a slightly bewildered Bruce Chatwin-esque air, ‘What am I doing here?’). And those shelves where you could find a surprising, exciting or simply curious page to keep you company for days or even weeks will no longer exist.

Books contain the words of those made of flesh and blood. They reveal passions, nourish pain and evoke the sweetest melancholy. They stir up memories you could happily do without and console you about times gone by.  Ultimately, words are like a warm feeling or a tender hope expressed in a song by Ornella Vanoni:  like love, they last forever.

These are the thoughts racing through my mind as I read in Milanese newspapers that the Hoepli bookshop is likely to close. It was founded as a publishing house in December 1870 by a cultured Swiss family. A few years later, in March 1876, the Corriere della Sera was founded. At that time, Milan was a city of great excitement,  with the first large industries (starting with Pirelli), banks (most notably the Banca Commerciale Italiana, which had German backing) and publishing houses springing up, as well as studios representing the main artistic movements. Milan was ‘the city that rises,’ as proclaimed by the title of one of Umberto Boccioni’s most beautiful paintings.

Cities grow and change; they are living organisms. Neighbourhoods expand and areas become marginalised.  People come and go.  Yet amidst so many transformations, some things remain and acquire great symbolic power and identity-building value. The Hoepli bookshop was one of them.

It has impressive stands for its new releases (including international ones), technical books on engineering and architecture, and excellent sections on history and current affairs.  It has an impressive art and photography collection and a well-stocked Milan department offering a  rare assortment of 500,000 titles.  Not to mention the knowledgeable and friendly staff. Above all this, the gentle and cultured shadow of the late Ulrico Hoeplis looms large: an elegant and severe gentleman.

The Hoepli is one of my favourite points of reference, alongside the Feltrinelli in Piazza Piemonte and a small independent bookshop in Corso Garibaldi. It’s very rare that I walk down the street of the same name without being drawn in by the shop windows and coming out with a new book under my arm.

Now, Milan is full of bookstores. There are large chains and independent bookshops that attract readers with their particular specialisms, as well as cultural initiatives. Festivals like BookCity in November offer thousands of packed events, including book presentations, meetings with writers, public readings and debates, led by Piergaetano Marchetti.

Yet, we know now that if Hoepli closes, it will leave a deep void, a wound, a scar.

It’s true that bookshops are businesses and commercial establishments tied to the game of supply and demand.  The owners, especially if they belong to different family branches, may not share the same vision:  to stay afloat, perhaps barely managing to balance the budget, or even losing money, in order to honour a history, tradition or cultural service, or to enhance a major real estate asset such as the Hoepli building in the heart of Milan. There is no moral judgement here; business is business. Even if the appeal to ‘save the Hoepli in Milan and the civilisation of the bookshop’ is sensible and well-founded (Aldo Cazzullo, Corriere della Sera, 21 February),the problem does not end there. If anything, while safeguarding all employee rights, it is necessary to ensure that, despite the common regret of bibliophiles and avid readers alike at the closure of every Hoepli or other good bookshop, others open. In fact, the municipality should implement a rent relief policy for small businesses and encourage the creation and development of neighbourhood, school, condominium, prison and corporate bookshops (many companies already have them for their employees, including Pirelli, Bracco and Assolombarda, and Museimpresa has listed around forty of them in Italy).

So, alongside the threat of bad news, it’s worth reading the Milanese newspapers (Corriere della Sera on 7 February and Il Giorno on 25 February) to note that a ‘free donation’ library called Baol has opened at number 47 of Viale Molise. There, you can read, borrow books, listen to fellow writers talk about them, and organise a community around the pleasure of reading. This small initiative is supported by volunteers and book-loving residents in the 35-square-metre space left free by condominium activities. So there are still interesting and stimulating initiatives. Will a hundred flowers bloom?

Milan is the city that gave voice to Elio Vittorini‘s talent through writing, politics and passion (La Repubblica, 20 January). Thanks to that voice, it has also seen the growth of a modern publishing culture whose benefits we still enjoy today. Despite everything, Milan is still a metropolis of well-written words and books worth reading, offering a ‘Milanese education’, an excellent title for Alberto Rollo’s beautiful book.

The aim, chosen by the City Council’s Department of Culture led by Tommaso Sacchi, is to ensure that none of the many book-related initiatives are wasted. If anything, they should be encouraged. This will be discussed next spring with the aim of making the municipal library service, which has over 4 million titles available to the city, increasingly efficient and well-connected.

The Hoepli will certainly be missed, just as we miss all the places that have closed over time to make way for more profitable commercial activities, such as selling socks and underwear, opening 24-hour restaurants and nail bars. And it’s getting worse all the time.

One solution would be to find and encourage entrepreneurs to open reading and training centres for children, listening centres, and spaces where they can quietly read or listen to the recommendations of reading groups and booksellers, which are popular with younger audiences. Who knows?

As a boy, I imagined opening a ‘librattoria’, a trattoria-bookshop frequented by students and enthusiasts. Then nothing came of it. Today, you could read about Inspector Montalbano while tucking into a generous portion of fried mullet, an excellent potato stew just like Vittorini liked it, and a tray of Adelina’s arancini…

(photo: Getty Images)

Three economists explain how and why, despite starting from the same point, Europe and China have reached different outcomes

There are different paths to achieving well-being, which are a matter of rules and social ties, as well as production conditions.  It is also a matter of culture in the fullest sense of the word, encompassing the  culture of production, as well as all-round material and immaterial culture. It is precisely the social and economic conditions and developments that have led to the current situation that are examined in the recently published book ‘Due strade verso la prosperità. Mille anni di cultura e istituzioni in Europa e in Cina’ (Two roads to prosperity. A thousand years of culture and institutions in Europe and China), written by three prominent economists, Joel Mokyr, Guido Tabellini and Avner Greif.

The book conducts a parallel investigation into the two paths that have led to the current economic and social conditions in Europe and China. These findings form the basis of the discussion:  in the eleventh century, when Europe was still a backwater and poor, China was a rich and sophisticated civilisation.  And yet, it was Europe that became the cradle of democracy and the Industrial Revolution, leading the Great Enrichment, while China remained stagnant until the end of the 20th century, remaining under the governance of autocracies.

Mokyr, Tabellini and Greif’s literary work therefore traces the emergence of two distinct social organisations in pre-modern China and Europe: the clan and the corporation. It demonstrates their pivotal role in the significant economic and political disparities between these two civilisations. In both societies during the Early Middle Ages, non-state organisations provided public goods such as risk-sharing, religious worship, education and conflict resolution. However, the organisations performing these functions were very different in the two parts of the world. In China, cooperation was based on kinship ties within clans, whereas in Europe, weaker kinship ties led to the formation of corporations such as guilds, universities, and autonomous cities. Although these organisations performed similar functions, they were based on very different principles, with consequences that are still felt today.

This book thus answers one of the fundamental questions of economic and political history, showing that social and cultural relations are as fundamental as material ones, both in the past and today. In other words, as demonstrated by Mokyr, Tabellini and Greif, kinship ties in Chinese society facilitated the consolidation of autocracy, but hindered innovation and economic development. In contrast, corporations influenced the development of state institutions in Europe, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution. In addition, the authors also provide a valuable tool for understanding the importance and significance of human relationships,  which is relevant even in the digital age.

Due strade verso la prosperità. Mille anni di cultura e istituzioni in Europa e in Cina

Joel Mokyr, Guido Tabellini, Avner Greif

Bocconi University Press, 2026

Read the speech by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy for a better understand of current events

During complex periods, such as the ones society and the economy are currently experiencing, it is necessary to look beyond appearances and look ‘beneath the surface’ of reality. This is especially important if you have duties and tasks to carry out, like those in business. Reading ‘Squilibri globali e i loro rischi in un’economia mondiale più frammentata’ (Global imbalances and their risks in a more fragmented world economy), the speech given by Sergio Nicoletti Altimari, Deputy Director of the Bank of Italy, at the 32nd Annual ASSIOM FOREX Congress in Venice on 20 February 2026, can help you to better understand the underlying issues in world economic news.

Altimari immediately sets out his case. ‘If the state of the global economy were judged solely on the basis of results for 2025, no particular problems would be apparent. Geopolitical upheavals and trade tensions between countries appear to have had only a marginal impact.’ The facts speak for themselves. Global growth remained above 3% in 2025 and is expected to remain at similar levels in 2026. World trade has shown remarkable resilience despite the introduction of US tariffs.  Inflation continued to decline, approaching the targets set by central banks. Despite episodes of volatility, financial markets performed very well, with double-digit increases in share prices on the main stock exchanges, not to mention the effects of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, which are certainly still to be clarified and managed. Above all, the author writes, ‘companies have demonstrated their ability to adapt, quickly reorienting trade and mitigating the impact of tariffs.’

So far, so good—better than expected, in fact. However, ‘beneath the surface of these favourable results, imbalances are accumulating that could prove destabilising if not addressed in time’. Herein lies the importance of looking beneath the surface,  an exercise that is useful not only in economics, but in observing reality in general. Altimari specifies, ‘These are not new phenomena, but problems that have afflicted many economies in the past.’ These are well-known issues that tend to be overlooked, but wrongly so. The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy highlights three key issues: the growth of global public debt, trade imbalances between countries, and vulnerabilities in specific segments of the financial markets. These are all issues that ‘can amplify risks’ and generate unexpected and serious problems.  To address these issues, he emphasises the need for a stronger Europe and ‘a fundamental rethink of how we operate, make decisions, and act.’

Altimari’s contribution not only provides clarity on complex issues, but also serves as a valuable tool for fostering a careful understanding of reality that benefits everyone.

Squilibri globali e i loro rischi in un’economia mondiale più frammentata

Sergio Nicoletti Altimari

Speech at the 32nd Annual ASSIOM FOREX Congress, Venice, 20 February 2026, Bank of Italy, 2026

A just published book provides a historical and contemporary analysis of the automotive sector in Italy and Europe

Even if the path to achieving it is fraught with difficulties and pitfalls, transforming an industrial sector that has been crucial to the economy (and society) for decades is an important goal to pursue. Here, we are talking about the automotive sector, which has been the cornerstone of the European and Italian economies for decades, as well as certain regions more than others. It is now the paradigm of the economic crisis par excellence: the ‘perfect storm’. And it is precisely from the image of the ‘perfect storm’ that ‘Auto-distruzione.  Crisi e trasformazione dell’industria dell’automobile’ (with the author employing a play on words in Italian, where auto means both self and car – Self/Car-destruction. Crisis and transformation of the automotive industry), a recently published book by Francesco Zirpoli, takes its cue.

Zirpoli discusses the state of the automotive industry in Italy and Europe in three stages. First, as mentioned above, he focuses on the decline of the industry in Europe before turning his attention to the situation in Italy and the history and current affairs of Fiat (now Stellantis). Finally, he considers how to overcome the crisis by combining the conditions and prospects of the supply chain, the environmental compatibility of new cars and the need for change to avoid extinction. This requires us to ‘broaden our horizons’ and find solutions beyond those attempted to date.

He debunks certain myths and highlights the benefits of what many today see as harmful, which is one of the book’s defining features.  This is evident in his criticism of EU emissions regulations as ‘convenient narratives that only serve to protect vested interests’, and his suggestion that the ecological shift could in fact be the key to reviving the sector.

Zirpoli writes that the book is also an invitation ‘to move beyond a vision of industry focused on the car, and to highlight the importance of broader reflections on future mobility. Because it’s not just about building new factories or producing cleaner cars. We also need to imagine cities that are less dependent on private cars and more open to shared mobility solutions, such as public transport and car sharing. This is a change that will affect the daily lives of millions of people, from families wondering whether they can afford to buy a car, to factory workers fearing for their jobs, to young people aspiring to live in cleaner, more liveable cities.’

Auto-distruzione. Crisi e trasformazione dell’industria dell’automobile

Francesco Zirpoli

Laterza, 2026

‘That noise! What’s that racket?’ ‘That’s the press, baby, the press. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Nothing.’ This is the final scene from the film ‘Deadline’, which has moved generations of audiences, especially young and old journalists, since the early 1950s.
The editor of the popular newspaper ‘The Day’, Ed Hutcheson, played by a serious Humphrey Bogart with a hint of irony in his eyes, brings the telephone handset closer to the large press loudly printing one copy after another. Ignoring the threats of the city boss, who has finally been exposed for his crimes, he responds with just a few words and a gesture.  The threat and the deadline have no effect:  the good guys, the journalists, win and the bad guys, the gangsters, lose. But it won’t always be like this. However, Hollywood has intelligently built a rhetoric around journalism that portrays it as one of America’s positive characteristics, ready to ‘defend the truth’. This has resulted in a valuable film library, ranging from ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘The Fourth Power’ to ‘The Front Page’, ‘The Post’, ‘Spotlight’, ‘She Said’ and ‘Frost/Nixon’, as well as a myriad of noirs and action movies in which journalists are portrayed in a positive light.

Now, after years of crisis, is great American journalism back in the news? A possible turnaround is being signalled by a surprising move by Warren Buffett, a highly regarded and sage figure in American finance, who is 95 years old and a true legend on Wall Street. He has cut his investments in Amazon, Apple and Bank of America, deciding instead to invest 353 million dollars in buying 5.1 million shares in the New York Times.

Buffett has just relinquished operational leadership of his company, Berkshire Hathaway,  but it is likely that he will continue to be a key figure in identifying new trends in finance and the business world.

But what do paper newspapers have to do with anything? The New York Times‘ accounts are positive, including sales of paper copies, digital subscriptions (especially for digital games and cooking recipes), and various editorial services in the greater New York area and across the US and several other regions worldwide.

Digitalisation has certainly opened up new possibilities in terms of content and extraordinary opportunities for editorial dissemination, and therefore for business, in areas that would otherwise be unreachable for a newspaper with a solid provincial distribution base, in both metropolises and small provincial cities that are very attached to their local newspaper.

However, it also raised a more general issue concerning American civil, cultural, and political society. In short, is a democracy without good-quality information still a solid, healthy democracy? Here it is again: the primacy of paper.  Words written down that remain to be read, understood, reflected upon, digested and used to give birth to other words,  a great public discourse,  built on newspapers.

This brings to mind the old Thomas Jefferson joke: ‘I would rather live in a country without a government than in a country without newspapers’. Many sectors of American public opinion are growing increasingly concerned about the increasing concentration of information power in the hands of government bodies and major players in technology, finance and the economy. This is happening without an effective system of checks and balances to compensate for the fact that the vast majority are poorly and hastily informed by the Big Tech social media and television, and those who hold the world’s most sensitive economic, political and financial information.

Big Tech has extraordinary strength in terms of the speed with which information is disseminated and controlled, and the amount of news that is circulated, but there is little control over the reliability and truth of this information. The dissemination force of Big Tech does not guarantee the  quality or veracity of the information at all,  and therefore has little to do with real information or democracy.

In an age of ‘factoids’ that are more or less passed off as facts in good faith, post-truth (quite the opposite of an inclination towards truth), fake news, and artificial intelligence that creates facts and contributes to current wars with similar truth, affecting popular knowledge and the very principles of democracy, it is the quality of information, its reliability, and its autonomy that act as central factors in being able to speak of democracy, truth, and thoughtful judgement of the actions of public administrations, and the critical formation of ‘public discourse’ (so dear to Habermas as the foundation of civil and democratic life).

When Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, bought the Washington Post in 2013 and had the words ‘Democracy dies in darkness’ inscribed above the masthead, many readers felt reassured. Combating ‘darkness’ (the concealment of facts and misdeeds by those in power) means ensuring, at least in principle, the quality of information and therefore the transparency and accountability of the actions of the government.

But things don’t seem to be going as expected. Like other Big Tech companies, Amazon has proven itself increasingly sensitive to requests from the White House. And just a few days ago, The Washington Post cut 300 of its 800 editorial staff (almost a third), causing serious concern within the news industry.  Does this mean fewer journalists, less information and lower quality and accuracy?

If this is the direction indicated by Buffett, then welcome back to paper and the good old newspapers. Information machines have become increasingly complex,  and the issue cannot be reduced to paper alone. We must return to considering the quality of information, regardless of the devices used, in order to support publishing companies (which the Meloni government is opposed to), and to ensure that citizens have access to reliable information and genuine opportunities for intellectual exchange. This could involve newspapers being supplemented with specialised weekly newsletters, in-depth analyses, columns, audio and video content, services and data.  In this realm, two qualities stand out: authority and autonomy. Even games and cooking recipes have their own unique qualities, which are precisely the hallmarks of a newspaper’s brand.

On the other hand, Alessandra Gallori, editor-in-chief of the British news agency Reuters, one of the first in the world, recently told Il Sole 24 Ore:  ‘We want to tell the story without renouncing morality’ (28 January).  This refers to the morality of the story, the veracity of the news and the reliability of the facts.

Despite everything, good information can still be produced, even in Italy, where publishing and financial groups focus on quality information. Examples include la Nem in Veneto, the Del Vecchio group for Il Resto del Carlino, Il Giornale and Il Sole 24 Ore, and the international publishing group of Greek origin Kyriakou, which is interested in la Repubblica. All of these groups are speaking, each in their own way, about the quality of information, services for citizens and the careful use of new technologies. This is a situation that is in the midst of change  and should be watched with great interest and attention.

Some years ago, in 2007, the excellent journalist and information expert Vittorio Sabadin published a book entitled ‘The Last Issue of the New York Times: The Future of Newspapers’ (Donzelli, 2007). Building on the work of media scholar Philip Meyer in ‘The Vanishing Newspaper’, the book predicted that the last copy of The New York Times would be sold at the last New York newsstand in the first quarter of 2043. If we look at the actions of our 95-year-old financial guru today, it seems increasingly unlikely that it will happen. It is more likely that my granddaughter Iolanda will be able to start her Sunday morning by sitting on the couch under a blanket, flicking through her copy of the New York Times.  This makes me feel much calmer for her, her friends and a little for us too.

(photo Getty Images)

Want to find out about the finalist titles of the fifth edition of the Campiello Junior award?

The Pirelli Foundation has invited the writers shortlisted by the Selection Jury to read an excerpt from their book for young readers and explain why it deserves their vote.

The Readers’ Jury – 240 strong, from across Italy and abroad – will cast their ballots to choose the winners in the two categories. The two authors who receive the prestigious literary prize established by the Pirelli Foundation and Fondazione Il Campiello will be revealed on Thursday, 16 April 2026, at the Teatro Comunale in Vicenza, during an event hosted by Armando Traverso of RAI Radio Kids.

The interviews will be published on this page and on the social media channels of the Pirelli Foundation and of the Premio Campiello.

26 February: Mariangela Gualtieri, Album per pensare e non pensare, Bompiani Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
5 March: Matteo Bussola, Il talento della rondine, Adriano Salani Editore (11-14-year shortlist)
12 March: Michela Guidi, Il seminatore di storie e altri strani mestieri, Feltrinelli Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
19 March: Luisa Mattia, Segui la tigre, Il Battello a Vapore (11-14-year shortlist)
26 March: Rosella Postorino, Un fratellino. Storia di Nanni e Mario, Adriano Salani Editore (7-10-year shortlist)
2 April: Daniele Mencarelli, Adelmo che voleva essere Settimo, Mondadori Editore (11-14-year shortlist)

On 8 and 9 April, we will also meet all six authors in two joint interviews. They will discuss their books and share their most treasured memories of childhood reading.

To keep up to date with the Campiello Junior prize initiatives, visit: www.fondazionepirelli.org and www.premiocampiello.org.

This collection of research develops the theory and practice of startups

While the phenomenon of start-up companies is certainly promising,  it should not be mistaken for a universal solution to economic development.  It is more a question of culture than entrepreneurship. However, it is an issue that requires careful examination through detailed, practical analysis. To this end, the collection of research and analysis edited by Martha Friel and Angelo Miglietta (both professors of economics and business management at IULM University, Milan) is essential reading.

The title of the collection is ‘Fare startup. Strumenti, visioni e competenze per creare imprenditorialità innovativa in Italia’ (Doing startups. Tools, visions and skills to create innovative entrepreneurship in Italy). It first clarifies the basic idea that creating a startup is not only an entrepreneurial choice, but also a cultural challenge. The collection then elaborates on this concept by presenting the experience of the BOOSTER project (Business, Communication and Strategic Analysis Training for Entrepreneurship), which was developed at IULM University to enhance the entrepreneurial abilities of startups chosen for the Berkeley SkyDeck Europe acceleration programme.
The work consists of two parts. The first section contains analyses that explore the dynamics of the startup ecosystem in depth. It focuses on emerging trends, the training needs of startups, the peculiarities of the Italian context, and investment prospects.  It is an analysis path that integrates theoretical approaches and experiences gained as part of the programme.
The second part is a collection of operational tools and resources designed to accompany the different phases of a startup’s development. Six experts address key issues such as strategic positioning, launching a business, growth, financial planning and communication.  Each contribution is divided into a series of guidelines aimed at providing entrepreneurs with tools they can use immediately.
This collection of studies and analyses coordinated by Martha Friel and Angelo Miglietta is valuable because it is both in-depth research and a practical tool.

Fare startup. Strumenti, visioni e competenze per creare imprenditorialità innovativa in Italia

Martha Friel, Angelo Miglietta (edited by)

Franco Angeli, 2026

In his latest book, Vanni Codeluppi tackles the subject of the present day in ten ‘steps’

Our world is moving faster than ever before.  Screens and social media are blurring the line between reality and the digital world.  Perhaps it’s too much modernity. However, it must be understood in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed.  Is it truly a new world, or just an intensification of the previous one?  How can we interpret this seemingly unstoppable flow? These are important questions for everyone, and finding the answers is anything but easy. Vanni Codeluppi attempts to address them in ‘Megamodernità. Capire la società’ (Megamodernity. Understanding society).

The book’s 150 pages begin with an observation of the many labels with which our present is characterised. However, these labels can never fully encapsulate the complexity of the world in which people, institutions and companies exist. What is evident to all, however, is that we live in an ‘over-excited society’, in which digital media produce an accelerated succession of informational ‘shocks’ that spill over into a social structure composed of increasingly vulnerable individuals, as the author explains.

Rather than providing more labels, Codeluppi tries to offer a set of tools to help us better understand and experience what is happening, set out in ten key concepts:  from ‘aesthetic capitalism’ and ‘hyper-consumerism’ to ‘hyperdivism’, ‘body-flux’ and ‘bio-capitalism’.

In this way, the reader is guided along a path that makes them wonder whether they are living in a completely new world or simply one that is ‘more intense’ in terms of the content and speed of dissemination.

Codeluppi’s book does not claim to provide absolute interpretations of reality; it merely aims to help us understand and be more aware of what is happening. And it is a worthwhile read.

Megamodernità. Capire la società

Vanni Codeluppi

Laterza, 2026