The event

Sole 24 Ore celebrates 160 years of news, stories and investigations

Stakeholders, customers, partners and journalists gathered at the Viale Sarca headquarters in Milan to celebrate the newspaper's history and talk about future projects. The newspaper was also presented with the Global brands award 2025

2 July 2025

5' min read

5' min read

Big celebration for the 160th anniversary of the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, marked by history, authority and innovation. It was 1 August 1865 when the liberal and innovative Milanese bourgeoisie began reading Il Sole, the newspaper dedicated to economics that was to become the reference for an ever-widening audience. 160 years have passed since then and many things have changed. Like when, on 9 November 1965, Il Sole officially merged with the newspaper Il commercio 24 Ore: this is how a new newspaper was born, the one that we have been able to find on newsstands ever since and, more recently, on digital media: Il Sole 24 Ore.

Festa per i 160 anni del Sole 24 Ore
Photogallery17 foto

A Country Heritage

The evening was opened by greetings from the President of the 24 ORE Group, Maria Carmela Colaiacovo, who explained in her speech that this anniversary 'does not just represent an editorial anniversary, a chronological milestone, but an important piece in the history of our country: an economic, financial and regulatory newspaper that in the course of its 160 years of life has become a true patrimony of the country, both economically and culturally. 160 years is a milestone that fills us with pride and invites us to reflect on the role that this newspaper has played and continues to play'. From 1865, with the birth of Il Sole, to today, Il Sole 24 Ore has traversed 'three different centuries,' Colaiacovo recalled, 'interweaving its history with that of our country, accompanying it, interpreting it, at times anticipating it, but always maintaining its own task: that of providing readers with a garrison of authority, independence and competence. In these 160 years, in fact, Il Sole 24 Ore has been able to evolve, without ever betraying its mission: to offer quality, independent, fact-based information, capable of guiding readers in understanding the present, explaining its complexity, and 'reading' the transformations of the future to help them make choices in the present. This is why I would like to address a special thank you to those who have made the history of this newspaper. And to those who will continue to do so, in the same spirit, for the next 160 years'.

Good Information

The celebrations were attended by the editor-in-chief of Il Sole 24 Ore, Fabio Tamburini, and the managing director of the 24 ORE Group, Federico Silvestri. Also echoing Colaiacovo's words, Tamburini explained that 'the recipe for good information is very simple: give readers and listeners news and insights they do not already know every day, do it in the most pleasant way possible, respect the rule that facts must be separated from opinions and opinions better if opposed, to give readers the best service. The Sole 24 Ore group is committed to respecting them by guaranteeing quality, in a world dominated by fake news, and in-depth analysis, in a world dominated by superficiality. Without reverential fears and without reticence'.

Future projects

CEO Silvestri said that '160 years is a number that tells a long, intense history, made up of transformations, challenges, and continuous innovation. This is why turning 160 represents an opportunity for us not only to celebrate our great past, our tradition and identity, but above all to look ahead, with the awareness of our history and the responsibility of our role'. A long history, but also 'a new beginning, to kick-start future projects, such as the new television channel that we 'switched on' a week ago,' added the manager, 'and which makes us the first Italian editorial pole to have a complete information platform, equipped with all the main broadcasting media. A system that not only informs, but also trains, orients, connects. And it creates value for the country, contributing to the growth of a widespread and aware economic culture'.

A number of stages in the history of the economic daily newspaper, which has become a large multimedia group year by year, were recounted and retraced, with the radio, television, website, and professional magazine activities developed around the original newspaper. In the evolution in a digital and multi-channel key, the latest milestone was the launch of Radio24-IlSole24OreTV, the new television channel visible on 246 digital terrestrial, which makes the 24 ORE Group the first Italian publishing group to have a complete multimedia information platform with all the main broadcasting media.

The prize

The double anniversary celebrations in the glass palace on Viale Sarca in Milan where the group's headquarters are located were attended by stakeholders, customers, partners, managers and journalists for an evening of festivities and announcements looking forward to a future to be written. And to be read. During the evening, the Global Brands Award 2025 was also presented to the daily newspaper directed by Fabio Tamburini, which was awarded in the Media, PR & Publications Awards - Italy category with two important mentions "Most Innovative Business News Platform" and "Excellence in Financial & Economic Journalism", confirming it as an absolute point of reference in economic-financial information and the ability to innovate in the publishing world. The awards were assigned by Global Brands Magazine for the excellence demonstrated by Il Sole 24 Ore in key areas such as innovation, quality of content, platform strategies, attention to the reader and editorial authority. The two awards thus represent an important attestation of the excellence achieved by the Group in the panorama of economic-financial journalism, which has seen it distinguish itself alongside other major international titles such as The New York Times, Der Spiegel and Le Monde. An award that rewards the Group's constant evolution in digital and multichannel terms, culminating recently in the launch of Radio24-IlSole24OreTV

Upcoming events

The coming months will be full of institutional and other appointments around the country. The first stop will be on 8 October in Rome at the Galleria del Cardinale Colonna for an event entitled 'The evolution of information media: challenges and strategies between present and future'. On 8 and 9 November in Milan, at the Mudec-Museo delle Culture, readers of Il Sole 24 Ore will be involved in the 'Opinion readers meeting' in which they will be able to meet the editorial staff during a packed programme of meetings, round tables, interviews and talks in which experts, representatives of the business world, culture and institutions will also take part. Workshops, laboratories, readings, presentations and initiatives have been planned for the youngest. Also in November, on the 19th, there will be an extraordinary concert in Milan Cathedral with the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Lorenzo Viotti, who will perform an exceptional musical repertoire. A Sole 24 Ore 'premiere' that everyone will be able to see because it will be an open and widespread event, also through the group's media channels.

Trent Festival, exhibitions and podcasts

Perspective but also history. And when it comes to history, the group's is now intertwined with the Trento Festival of Economics, where a year-long celebratory path was devised, which began with the call to action 'Become an opinion reader' to which thousands of readers responded. Eight were selected to become the protagonists of the Opinion reader institutional communication campaign, the first in the newspaper's history. The Trento Festival also hosted two celebratory initiatives. The first is the exhibition '16per10 - 160 years of information in the Light of the Sun', which can also be viewed in digital format on the website dedicated to the anniversary. The second is the podcast 'Extraordinary Edition! 10 spectacular events in the history of Italy by Paolo Colombo, Professor of Contemporary History at the Catholic University of Milan. New episodes will be released in September.

The tour and the community

In June, on the other hand, the 'Silent reading tour' started in order to promote the reading of the newspaper in a reasoned and commented manner in groups: the journey started in Palermo, will touch several Italian cities, and was created to create new moments of encounter with the community of male and female readers. It will be a long journey into a future yet to be written.