About Corriere d'Italia

Corriere d'Italia

The Corriere d'Italia is the Italian-language monthly newspaper for the Italian community in Germany, published in Frankfurt am Main with a circulation of around 25,000 copies. Founded in 1951 by Don Aldo Casadei as La Squilla, and independent since 1963, it is the largest Italian-language newspaper outside Italy, serving the hundreds of thousands of Italians living and working in Germany. The publisher is the Delegazione I.K.M. in Germania e Scandinavia, the Italian Catholic mission's delegation, and the editor is Licia Linardi, with Tobia Bassanelli as director. Appearing eleven times a year, the paper covers Italian community life, German-Italian relations, culture and the practical concerns of expatriates. Its digital home is corriereditalia.de, extending the monthly's reach to the Italian diaspora across Germany and Scandinavia.

Overview

The Corriere d'Italia appears monthly, eleven issues per year, as the newspaper of the Italian community in Germany. Its circulation is approximately 25,000 copies, making it the largest Italian-language newspaper published outside Italy, a testament to the size and cohesion of the Italian diaspora in Germany.

The publisher is the Delegazione I.K.M. in Germania e Scandinavia, the delegation of the Italian Catholic mission in Germany and Scandinavia, reflecting the paper's origins in the pastoral care of Italian guest workers. The editor is Licia Linardi, and the director is Tobia Bassanelli.

The paper is published in Frankfurt am Main, Germany's most international city, and distributed to Italian communities across the country, from the industrial Ruhr to Bavaria to Berlin. Its pages are written in Italian, serving first-generation immigrants, their descendants and the newer wave of Italian professionals in Germany.

The readership is the Italian diaspora: the guest workers who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, their families, and the young Italians who have moved to Germany in recent decades. The paper's journalism bridges the two countries, covering Italian community affairs, German politics affecting immigrants, and cultural life in both languages' spheres.

History

The Corriere d'Italia was founded in 1951 by Don Aldo Casadei as La Squilla, the "bell," in the early years of Italian labor migration to Germany. The 1950s saw the first great wave of Italian Gastarbeiter arrive in the Federal Republic, recruited for the coal mines, the steel mills and the construction sites, and the Catholic mission's paper gave them news from home and guidance for life in Germany.

In 1963, the paper became independent under the name Corriere d'Italia, establishing itself as the voice of the Italian community. The following decades saw the community grow and settle: the guest workers brought their families, the second generation grew up bilingual, and the paper chronicled the Italians' integration into German society while preserving their cultural identity.

The publisher, the Delegazione I.K.M. in Germania e Scandinavia, maintained the paper's Catholic orientation and its mission of community service through the decades. The paper survived the decline of print by serving a loyal, well-defined community that larger media ignore.

Under editor Licia Linardi and director Tobia Bassanelli, the paper has developed its digital presence on corriereditalia.de, reaching the new generation of Italian expatriates, the young professionals and students who have moved to Germany in the European Union's era of free movement.

Coverage and Content

The Corriere d'Italia's pages are the monthly record of Italian life in Germany. Community news leads: the Italian associations, the consulates' announcements, the cultural institutes' programs and the parishes' activities are covered in the detail the diaspora needs.

German-Italian relations provide distinctive themes: the immigration policies affecting Italians, the bilateral cultural programs, the economic ties and the political developments in both countries. The paper explains German affairs to Italian readers and Italian affairs to the community, serving as a bridge between the two societies.

Culture fills the pages: Italian literature, cinema, music and cuisine in Germany, the community's festivals and the profiles of successful Italians in German public life. Practical service journalism addresses the expatriates' concerns: residence rights, pensions, healthcare, schooling for bilingual children and the bureaucracy of life between two countries.

The tone is community-oriented and Catholic in its values, reflecting the publisher's mission. The paper's Italian language preserves the linguistic identity of the diaspora, serving readers who think and feel in Italian even after decades in Germany.

The second generation provides the paper's most important editorial challenge and opportunity: the children of the guest workers, now German citizens who grew up bilingual, need a paper that speaks to their dual identity. The Corriere's features on successful Italians in German public life, from politics to business to culture, give these readers role models, while its coverage of Italian schools and language courses supports the parents who want their children to keep their mother tongue. The paper's reporting on the new EU migrants, the young professionals arriving from Italy in recent decades, addresses a different Italy: educated, mobile and European, yet still in need of a community paper.

The paper's Catholic mission shapes its social journalism: the reports on the Italian parishes, the pastoral care for the elderly guest workers and the charitable initiatives serve a community whose church has been its anchor since the 1950s. For the consulates, the paper's announcements are the essential channel to the community, and for the Italian cultural institutes, its cultural pages are the natural partner in promoting Italian culture in Germany.

Organization and Ownership

The Corriere d'Italia is published by the Delegazione I.K.M. in Germania e Scandinavia, the delegation of the Italian Catholic mission in Germany and Scandinavia, based in Frankfurt am Main. The Catholic orientation shapes the paper's values and its community mission.

The editor is Licia Linardi, who leads the newsroom, and the director is Tobia Bassanelli, who directs the publishing operation. The paper's staff serves the Italian community with journalism in the community's own language.

The paper appears eleven times a year, a monthly rhythm that suits the diaspora's reading habits and the publisher's resources. The 25,000-copy circulation makes it the largest Italian-language paper outside Italy, a unique position in the European migrant press.

Financial details are not publicly disclosed. The paper's mission-driven publishing model prioritizes community service over profit, sustained by the Catholic mission's commitment and the readers' loyalty.

Digital Presence

The Corriere d'Italia's digital home is corriereditalia.de, the portal for the Italian community's news in Germany. The site carries the monthly's journalism, updated regularly, along with archives, community announcements and service information for Italians in Germany and Scandinavia.

The digital edition extends the paper's reach to the new generation of Italian expatriates, the young professionals and students who live their lives online. For Italians across Germany's cities, the portal is the daily connection to the community's news between the monthly print issues.

On social media, the paper maintains presences that distribute community news, cultural event announcements and the stories of Italians in Germany to the diaspora's audience. The community's engagement keeps the paper connected to its readers' lives.

The digital strategy aims to serve the evolving Italian community: the guest workers' descendants, now German citizens, and the new EU migrants, young, mobile and digital. The Corriere d'Italia, founded in 1951 as La Squilla, remains their paper, in print eleven times a year and online every day, the largest Italian-language newspaper outside Italy.

For the Italian restaurants, the paper's gastronomy pages are the natural showcase, while its coverage of the community's religious festivals, from the patron saint celebrations to the Christmas traditions, preserves the rituals that bind the diaspora across generations.