Mario Pirani — Italian journalist, economist and co‑founder of la Repubblica

Career and roles

Pirani worked for a range of Italian newspapers and periodicals early in his career, gaining experience as a reporter and columnist. He was part of the team that launched la Repubblica in 1976 alongside Eugenio Scalfari, helping to establish one of Italy’s leading national newspapers. Later he served as editor of the news magazine L'Europeo from 1979 to 1980.

Work and interests

Trained in economics and active as a public intellectual, Pirani wrote about labour, industrial relations and economic policy. His pieces combined journalistic reporting with analysis aimed at readers interested in the social consequences of economic change. He published essays and articles that contributed to debates on modernization, employment and public policy.

Awards and recognition

• Co‑founder of la Repubblica, a major national daily established in the 1970s.
• Editor of L'Europeo (1979–1980).
• Recipient of the Premiolino in 1995, one of Italy’s respected journalism awards.

Pirani was noted for blending economic insight with accessible prose and for mentoring younger journalists during a period of change in the Italian press. His editorial work helped shape discussion on domestic politics and the economy at a time when newspapers played a central role in national debate.

He died in Rome in April 2015 at the age of 89. Today his career is remembered as part of the broader evolution of Italian journalism in the latter half of the twentieth century, marked by new publications, investigative reporting and an increased focus on economic and social issues.