DeAgostini

De Agostini is an Italian holding and operating group whose origins lie in geographical publishing. Giovanni De Agostini, a geographer, founded the De Agostini Geographical Institute in Rome in June 1901. The organization began with cartographic and educational products, including a school atlas published during its founding year, and later became associated with atlases, encyclopedias, calendars, educational references, and serialized partwork publications. The group subsequently developed beyond traditional publishing. Its strategic operating structure includes De Agostini Editore, De Agostini Communications, IGT, and DeA Capital. These activities place the wider group across four broad sectors: publishing; media and communications; games and services; and financial investments. The corporate holding company coordinates these businesses and also holds investments in other companies, including a minority interest in Assicurazioni Generali. Publishing remains central to the De Agostini identity. De Agostini Editore operates internationally, with publishing activities in approximately 30 countries and products issued in 13 languages. Its portfolio includes De Agostini Publishing, DeA Planeta Libri, De Agostini Scuola, and Digital De Agostini. Planeta DeAgostini, a joint venture with Grupo Planeta, extends the group’s publishing presence in Spanish-speaking markets. The group’s publishing model combines books and reference works with recurring, collectible, educational, and hobby-oriented series. These have included encyclopedic works, atlases, model-building programs, puzzles, and other partworks released in installments. De Agostini has also built a significant media and communications presence. De Agostini Communications is involved in content production, broadcasting, and distribution across television, new media, and cinema. The group owns a minority stake in Banijay Group, the parent company of Banijay Entertainment, and is a shareholder of Atresmedia, the Spanish radio and television group. Atresmedia’s activities include television, radio, digital media, advertising, and cinema, giving De Agostini exposure to content creation, broadcasting, and media distribution. The group’s geographic and cartographic heritage has also continued through specialized businesses. Geo4Map was established in 2009 by geographic and cartographic employees of De Agostini. In 2015 it acquired the entire cartographic and geographic business branch of De Agostini Editore, and in 2016 it acquired the Libreria Geografica brand. These transactions placed part of the group’s cartographic expertise in a specialist company while preserving continuity with De Agostini’s original field. Today, DeAgostini is best understood not only as a consumer publishing label but as the brand associated with a diversified Italian private group. Its public-facing products continue to connect information, education, collecting, entertainment, and hobbies, while the broader corporate organization operates through publishing, media, gaming and services, and investment businesses.

De Agostini began in Rome in June 1901, when geographer Giovanni De Agostini founded the De Agostini Geographical Institute. The company’s initial identity was closely tied to geography, cartography, and educational reference publishing. During its first year it published a school atlas and opened its first shop. In 1904, it introduced the Atlante de Agostini Calendar, a small annual publication combining geographical information with calendar content. This early combination of factual reference material and regularly issued publications anticipated the group’s later strength in serialized and recurring formats. Over time, De Agostini expanded its publishing offer beyond maps and geographical references. Atlases, encyclopedias, educational products, and partwork series became important parts of its commercial identity. The partwork format allowed substantial works, collections, and hobby projects to be distributed in installments, often combining printed editorial content with objects or components intended for collection or assembly. This model supported De Agostini’s expansion into educational, entertainment, collectible, and model-making products. The organization later moved from Rome to Novara and developed into a broader corporate group. De Agostini Editore became the principal publishing operating company, with activities extending to numerous countries and languages. Its publishing structure includes De Agostini Publishing, DeA Planeta Libri, De Agostini Scuola, and Digital De Agostini. Its Spanish publishing presence includes Planeta DeAgostini, a joint venture with Grupo Planeta. The group’s development also involved diversification into media and communications, games and services, and finance. De Agostini Communications became involved in audiovisual content production, broadcasting, and distribution across television, new media, and cinema. The group also became associated with stakes in media companies, including Banijay Group and Atresmedia, as well as financial investments such as its minority holding in Assicurazioni Generali. De Agostini’s geographic heritage continued through specialist cartographic activity. In 2009, Geo4Map was created by geographic and cartographic employees of De Agostini. Geo4Map later acquired De Agostini Editore’s entire cartographic and geographic business branch in 2015 and the Libreria Geografica brand in 2016. These developments illustrate the separation of specialist cartographic operations from the wider publishing group while retaining a connection to the organization’s founding expertise. The modern De Agostini group therefore consists of a private holding structure coordinating several businesses rather than a single publishing imprint. Its historical reputation remains rooted in atlases, encyclopedias, and educational publishing, while its contemporary scope includes international publishing, digital and audiovisual media, games and services, and financial investment.

• 2016

  Libreria Geografica brand acquired

  [1]De Agostinien.wikipedia.org

  Geo4Map acquired the Libreria Geografica brand, further consolidating the specialist geographic publishing business outside De Agostini Editore.

• 2015

  Geo4Map acquires De Agostini cartographic business

  [1]De Agostinien.wikipedia.org

  Geo4Map acquired the entire cartographic and geographic business branch of De Agostini Editore.

• 2009

  Geo4Map established

  [1]De Agostinien.wikipedia.org

  Geo4Map was created by geographic and cartographic employees of De Agostini, establishing a specialist business connected to the group's cartographic heritage.

• 1904

  Atlante de Agostini Calendar introduced

  [1]De Agostinien.wikipedia.org

  De Agostini began publishing the Atlante de Agostini Calendar, combining annual calendar information with geographical news and reference content.

• 1901

  De Agostini Geographical Institute founded

  [1]De Agostinien.wikipedia.org

  Geographer Giovanni De Agostini founded the De Agostini Geographical Institute in Rome in June 1901. The organization published a school atlas during the same year and opened its first shop.

A diversified Italian group combining educational and reference publishing with collectible partworks, hobby products, media and communications, games and services, and financial investment activities. An internationally oriented Italian publisher and reference-content group combining geographical heritage with educational, general-interest, digital and collectible publishing.

• Cartographic publishing · 1901

  Atlases

  Atlases are part of De Agostini's original and continuing publishing identity. The group's first documented publication was a school atlas issued in 1901, reflecting its foundation in geography, cartography, and educational reference. Later atlas products supported general, school, and reference use.

• Reference publishing

  Encyclopedias and reference works

  De Agostini has long been associated with encyclopedias and other reference publications. These works extend the company's original geographic mission into broader educational and general-knowledge content, frequently using structured editorial formats intended for home reference and collection.

• Serialized publishing

  Partwork publications

  Partworks are recurring publications released in installments, often combining editorial material with collectible components or practical projects. They have allowed De Agostini to distribute encyclopedic, educational, entertainment, and hobby content over a sequence of issues rather than as a single completed volume.

• Model-making and collectibles

  Model Space series

  Model Space is associated with De Agostini's model-building and collectible partwork activities. Such programs typically combine installment-based editorial content with components intended to be assembled into a larger display model. The range illustrates the group's movement from conventional publishing into participatory hobby products.

• Educational publishing

  Educational publishing

  Through De Agostini Scuola and related publishing operations, the group produces educational material connected to school and learning markets. This activity continues the educational purpose visible in the company's first school atlas and complements its general reference and digital content.

• Digital media and publishing

  Digital De Agostini

  Digital De Agostini represents the group's digital publishing and content activities. It extends the company's reference, educational, and entertainment orientation into digital formats and forms part of the De Agostini Editore structure.

• Consumer and reference publishing

  De Agostini Publishing

  The principal publishing activity associated with the De Agostini name. Its historical area of strength is reference publishing, including geographical works, atlases, illustrated titles and serialized or collectible products. The imprint sits within a broader international publishing operation that distributes material across multiple markets and languages.

• Educational publishing

  De Agostini Scuola

  The group's school-publishing activity, focused on educational materials and resources for the formal education market. It extends De Agostini's historical reference and learning orientation into structured school content.

• Book publishing

  DeA Planeta Libri

  A book-publishing operation within De Agostini Editore's portfolio. It forms part of the group's general publishing activity alongside educational, digital, reference and serialized formats.

• International publishing joint venture

  Planeta DeAgostini

  A Spanish publishing joint venture between De Agostini and Grupo Planeta. The venture reflects the group's use of international partnerships to develop publishing operations outside Italy.

• Geographical reference publication · 1904

  Atlante de Agostini Calendar

  An annual publication first issued in 1904 that combined calendar information with geographical news. It exemplified the early De Agostini approach of pairing practical recurring formats with accessible reference content.

• 2016

  Geo4Map acquired Libreria GeograficaM&A

  Background

  Following the transfer of De Agostini's cartographic and geographic business, Geo4Map continued consolidating specialist geographic publishing assets.

  Action taken

  Geo4Map acquired the Libreria Geografica brand.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition strengthened Geo4Map's position in geographic and cartographic publishing outside the core De Agostini Editore structure.

  Source

• 2015

  Separation of the cartographic and geographic businessStrategy

  Background

  De Agostini Editore had a long-standing geographic and cartographic publishing tradition, while specialist employees had established Geo4Map in 2009.

  Action taken

  Geo4Map acquired the entire cartographic and geographic business branch of De Agostini Editore.

  Aftermath

  The transaction moved the specialist cartographic business into Geo4Map while De Agostini Editore retained a broader publishing portfolio.

  Source

• 2019.10.18

  Viacom announces acquisition of remaining stake in Super Broadcast[4]维亚康姆宣布收购 Super Broadcast 剩余股权advanced-television.com

  Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom, announced the acquisition from De Agostini Editore of the remaining 50 percent of Super Broadcast, which owns and operates the Italian free-to-air channel Super!.

Read more

1. 1De Agostinien.wikipedia.org
2. 2De Agostini corporate websitedeagostini.com
3. 3De Agostini Group corporate websitegruppodeagostini.it
4. 4维亚康姆宣布收购 Super Broadcast 剩余股权advanced-television.com