Dear Ernesto Mauri,

The world of the magazine press has its giants. You are one of them, in
same title as Axel Ganz nicknamed «the tiger of glazed paper», the boss
of Prisma Presse, one of the most inspiring personalities
in your trade. You have made a major contribution to quality
a press that knows how to combine entertainment and knowledge, fun and serious,
dreams of glamour and looks on the currents of opinion, a press
inextricably linked to the trends and desires of a society.

Less ephemeral than newspapers and dailies, but also less
books, the glossy magazine stacks at the feet of the
coffee tables, at home, in our libraries, in the rooms
It can be read diagonally or in a more
attentive to the topics. Object of distraction and information, fast
and effective, it captures all ranges of attention, it takes the pulse of
and fashions, sometimes he shapes them. The written press is not
...the print media is emotional. There is a crisis, but
in any case, there is no crisis of emotion,” you say in 2009. This is the
a press boss aware of the power of these media
influence both light and complex, and what quality means.

At the head of Mondadori France, the third magazine press group in
France behind Lagardère Active and Prisma Presse, which includes 28
titles as varied as Grazia, Us two, Closer, Science and Life, Biba,
Star TV, Modes & Works, Auto Plus, or The Hunter History
French, the graduate of economics of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
of Milan as you are has made a name in the media gotha,
for 16 years as general manager of Rusconi Editore, or
as managing director of the Italian channel La7 at the beginning of the
years 2000 - among other high responsibilities. Keen observer,
remarkable businessman and passionate about press publishing
magazine, inspired by some titles published in France as Femme
you have not only contributed to the creation of new
Italian magazines like Chi, Donna Moderna, or Casa Facile, in the
as part of your activity as Director General of Group Periodicals
Mondadori in Italy, for almost 10 years.

You also became attached, when you took the direction of
Mondadori in France in 2008, to produce the French edition of a magazine
high-end Italian - a historical monument of fashion in the
since 1938 with 13 editions worldwide, including
a French edition that changed the habits of the press
French woman: Grazia. You sign thus, in the midst of economic turmoil, one of the
first forays of the Italian press in France, after the Romanphoto
of Cino del Duca (Us Two) in the 1960s», for
quote Vincent Soulier in his book La Presse féminine,
a frivolous power. A successful incursion, which places
today the French version of the Italian magazine among the best
high-end women, the second-largest advertising market in the
French magazine press, right behind ELLE.

Grazia, just arrived, unleashes lusts. In May 2009,
burglars steal the computer of the artistic direction containing the
model of the magazine, while the last touches were
Grazia knows how to impose her recipe:
its well-balanced melting pot of fashion, news and culture, its side
trendy and spicy, addressing modern fashionata and
And what will they say:
a magazine that attracts the many «Ché bello!» heard on August 28
2009 at the Hotel de Sers in Paris for the presentation of the magazine - the
word-of-mouth effect very quickly, subsequently, with the readership
french female.

Businessman, you are also a man of culture and elegance,
concerned to offer readers quality reviews, to live in intelligence
with the air of time and sensitivities, and adapt to new
communication media - I am thinking in particular of the online
all your magazines on the digital distribution channels, scheduled for
the end of this year. Editorial quality is your battle horse,
as evidenced by the recent release of the fifth
Science &Life, Wars and History – among many titles that populate
the daily life of a very large French readership.

Dear Ernesto Mauri, you understand and love France, and it you
also. I am very pleased to pay tribute tonight to the one who
represents in the galaxy of the magazine press, vivacity and faith in
a print press that always knows how to renew itself.

On behalf of the French Republic, we present you with
Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.