Angelo Rizzoli (12 November 1943 – 11 December 2013) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

film producer and publisher. He was son of

Andrea Rizzoli Andrea Rizzoli (Milan, September 16, 1914 - Nice, May 31, 1983) was an Italian entrepreneur, publisher and film producer. He was the son of Angelo Rizzoli, president of the publishing house RCS MediaGroup, the first Italian publishing group in th ...

, president of the

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 ...

publishing house, and grandson of

Angelo Rizzoli 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 appren ...

who founded the Italian publishing group

Rizzoli Libri Rizzoli Libri, formerly Rizzoli Libri S.p.A. and RCS Libri S.p.A. is an Italian book publisher and a division of Mondadori Libri, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. RCS Libri was a former subsidiary of RCS MediaGroup, but i ...

, later becoming RCS MediaGroup.

Biography

Angelo Rizzoli Jr. was born in

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

, Italy on 12 November 1943. At age 18 he discovered that he had been affected by

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

, which left him a disability to the right hand and leg. Following the death of Angelo Rizzoli, at age 28 he became part of the family business and was named the head of the board of directors. Four years later, RCS MediaGroup purchased Italy's most circulated newspaper, ''

Corriere Della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

'', a move that would place him under the interest of the

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...

. In 1981 the ''Corriere Della Sera'' was cited among the organizations part of the Propaganda Due scandals. In 1983 he was arrested, detained, and absolved thirteen months later after the Irish supreme court ruled that the funds had alluded to be retained by Rizzoli were in fact withdrawn by Zirka Corp and hidden within a

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

bank account in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, ruling out Rizzoli's role in the scandal. He later founded Rizzoli Audiovisivi, through which he produced television series for the Italian television networks

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

and

Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...

. In 1987, he came back for the big production slate through his new company Errefilm, which is only a hint of the rich film and television program the former head of the Rizzoli publishing empire the company had assembled during the past few years, through the October 12 start of '' Love and Fear'', and named for the producer's initial, but also could stand for the word "reborn". In 1991 he married Melania De Nichilo, a medical doctor of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

and later Member of Parliament. He had three sons, Andrea Rizzoli, Arrigo Rizzoli, and Alberto Rizzoli. Rizzoli was arrested in February 2013 on bankruptcy fraud charges related to his business dealings. Despite a series of illnesses including multiple sclerosis,

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

, and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, he denied domiciliary arrest and held in the Sandro Pertini detention care facility without access to physical therapy, which would permanently undermine his ability to walk. After five months he was released and transferred to the Gemelli hospital due to deteriorating health conditions, where he died on 11 December 2013.

Bibliography

* Alberto Mazzuca, ''La Erre verde'', Longanesi 1991. * Pialuisa Bianco, "Schiavo d'un sindacato potente come un soviet", ''L'Europeo'', n° 17 del 26 aprile 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzoli, Angelo Angelo 1943 births 2013 deaths Italian book publishers (people) Propaganda Due