Angelo Rizzoli, OML (; 31 October 1889 – 24 September 1970) was an Italian publisher and film producer.

Early life

Rizzoli was born in Milan on 31 October 1889. Orphaned at a young age and raised in poverty, he rose to prosperity. He apprenticed in the printer trade and later became an entrepreneur in his twenties.

Career

In 1927, Rizzoli founded the company ''A. Rizzoli & Co.'' (later

RCS MediaGroup RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. (formerly Rizzoli Editore and Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera), based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, ra ...

). In 1927 Rizzoli acquired ''

Novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

'' magazine, a bi-weekly primarily for women that reached a circulation of 130,000 copies, from ''

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 19 ...

'' an independent publisher who specialized in books and magazines. After his initial purchase, he added several new publications including ''

Annabella Annabella, Anabella, or Anabela is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Annabella of Scotland (c. 1433–1509), daughter of King James I *Annabella (actress) (1907–1996), stage name of French actress Suzanne Georgette C ...

'', '' Bertoldo'', '' Candido'', '' Omnibus'', and ''Oggi e L'Europeo''. In 1949 he began publishing books including both classics and popular novels. He purchased ''Cartiera di Lama di Reno'' in 1954, the foundation for what would become an Italian publishing empire. His operations were moved in 1960 to a complex on Via Civitavecchia in Milan. He was amongst the first producers of daily newspapers within the relatively newly established nation of Italy. Active in film, he had control of the French company Francinex with which he co-produced

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

's ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...

'' (1960) and ''

8½ ''8½'' ( ) is a 1963 Italian avant-garde arthouse comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on famous Italian film director Guido Anselmi ( Marcello Mastroianni) who suffers from writer ...

'' (1963), as well as French films such as ''

Une Parisienne ''The Parisian'' (original French title: ''Une parisienne'') is a 1957 French comedy film starring Charles Boyer, Henri Vidal and Brigitte Bardot. directed by Michel Boisrond. Bardot plays the daughter of the French President who marries her ...

'' (1957). In 1964 Rizzoli opened the original Rizzoli International Bookstore in New York City at 712 Fifth Avenue, designed by architect Ferdinand Gottlieb. The bookstore was featured in various Hollywood films, most notably,

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's ''

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

'' and ''

Falling in Love Falling in love is the development of strong feelings of attachment and love, usually towards another person. The term is metaphorical, emphasizing that the process, like the physical act of falling, is sudden, uncontrollable and leaves the ...

'' with

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and Meryl Streep. He also produced the controversial documentary film '' Africa Addio''. A museum about Rizzoli's life and career is located at Villa Arbusto within the guest house of that place, at Lacco Ameno. Within this are held 500 photographic-records or evidence of his activities taken on-set during production. The museum also holds the Pithekoussai Archaeological Museum.

Personal life

Rizzoli married Anna Marzorati with whom he had two children, Andrea and Giuseppina. Rizzoli died aged 81 years of age.

Selected filmography

* '' Red Roses'' (1940) * '' We're Dancing on the Rainbow'' (1952) * '' The Two Orphans'' (1954) * '' Madame Butterfly'' (1954) * ''

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry (; 28 August 1744 – 8 December 1793) was the last ''maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason—particularly being ...

'' (1954) * '' Paris, Palace Hotel'' (1956) * ''

'' (1960) * '' All the Gold in the World'' (1961) * ''

'' (1963)

References

External links

*
''Le Grandi Famiglie: I Rizzoli''
by Mariateresa Truncellito {{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzoli, Angelo 1889 births 1970 deaths Italian film producers Angelo Film people from Milan David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Italian publishers (people) Italian book publishers (people) Italian magazine founders