lecta SpA, a company of Gruppo Mondadori, operates under the Electa and Abscondita brands. It is the largest Italian publisher in the figurative culture sector in terms of catalogue, variety of series, quality of publications and activities related to the museum sector.
For over eighty years, the publisher has played a dynamic role in studying and documenting the various sectors of the visual arts. Its innovative publishing models, scholarly quality, and constant quest for a graphic identity have made history in illustrated publishing.
Publishing
In the panorama of Italian culture and publishing, Electa is supremely the epicenter of Art: of its “History,” with a capital H, intersecting the great events of the centuries, and of its “stories,” that is, all those micro-narratives capable of revealing the thoughts behind movements, the ideas behind phenomena, the men and women behind the geniuses. Painting, photography, architecture, design, sculpture, performance, the new and ancient thresholds of experimentation. From the classical world (and even earlier) to the contemporary extreme: a cultured story but always in sync with the times, innovative and plural, restoring the different perspectives and different approaches that compose the lively debate around the visual arts in every form. Eighty years of books that go far beyond the production of the catalogues of some of the most acclaimed and widely attended exhibitions since 1945. In the field of Art History alone, Electa presents as many series as the bold new directions the publishing house has embraced in recent years.
Exhibitions
In addition to setting the benchmark in editorial design, in over twenty years, with curatorial precision and innovative design, Electa has mounted more than 300 exhibitions in the most prestigious museums in Italy, on topics that include art, photography, design and literature, establishing itself as a model in exhibition design. Between 2020 and 2024 alone, it curated some fifty exhibitions, confirming its role as a cultural activator. Electa’s activity stands out by its deep synergy with museums and archaeological sites, establishing long-standing collaborations with curators and scholars for the production of projects that range from archaeology to contemporary art. Its sartorial approach draws on contributions by internationally renowned architects and designers, whose work enhances the scenic qualities of the exhibitions. Alongside exhibition production, Electa is a key player in the management of public services for museums: from managing bookshops to creating merchandise, publishing and organising cultural events. Its operations cover an extensive network of prestigious institutions, including: Palazzo Reale, Milan; Triennale di Milano; Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome; Palazzo Ducale, Genoa; the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, Rome; the Baths of Caracalla, Rome, to name just a few.
In the five-year period 2020-2025, Electa curated exhibitions of broad thematic and scholarly scope, such as “BAJ. Baj chez Baj” at Palazzo Reale in Milan, “Penelope” (2024) at the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo, “Favoloso Calvino. Il mondo come opera d’arte. Carpaccio, de Chirico, Gnoli, Melotti e gli altri” (2023) at the Scuderie del Quirinale, “Picasso e l’Antico” (2023) at the MANN in Naples, “Letizia Battaglia. Senza Fine” (2023-2025) at the Baths of Caracalla, in the Area Megalitica of Aosta and on the seafront of Reggio Calabria, “Max Ernst” (2022) al Palazzo Reale in Milan, “I Farnese. Architettura, Arte, Potere” (2022) at the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta in Parma, and many others.
Bookshops and merchandising
Bookshops
Electa’s involvement in the management of museum and exhibition bookshops dates back to the 1980s, with the first major exhibitions at Palazzo Reale in Milan and the creation of the Stirling Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. It was then consolidated by the Ronchey Law and the concessions of services to the public at the most important Italian museums. Over the course of thirty years, Electa has curated the bookshops of the great archaeological areas of Lazio (Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, Hadrian’s Villa), Campania (Pompeii), as well as the main museums of the Peninsula, from the Pinacoteca di Brera to the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome, the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, the Museo Nazionale Romano, Capodimonte, the Museum of Leonardo’s Last Supper and the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Since 1990 it has continuously managed the bookshops of the Venice Biennale (Art, Architecture, Cinema) and since 2016 the shop of the Triennale di Milano. At Electa bookshops the public has access to a rich and varied offering, modulated to meet the needs of international tourists as well as the most refined art connoisseurs, accompanied by educational supports and infographics that guide visitors and explore the contents of the range of offerings. The layouts and the visual identity benefit from the work of architects specialising in retail design and are enriched with graphics conceived by internationally renowned creatives, who design pleasant and elegant spaces even in the busiest tourist destinations.
Merchandising
Colourful, pop and fashionable, museum merchandise now has a cult following worldwide and is even seen as collectible. Recognised as a vehicle for communicating the cultural contents of museums or exhibitions on a par with publishing, it has an extraordinary ability to attract even the classes of visitors least interested in books, such as young people or the general public, and is a very effective tool for conveying the brands of individual institutions. Electa specialises in curating these materials, with a particular concern for environmental sustainability, items made in Italy, traceable and certifiable production chains, and graphic experimentation through partnerships with graphic designers worldwide. Among the most important lines created: the institutional series Triennale di Milano with the Swiss studio Norm (2022-2025); the Venice Biennale, 60th International Art Exhibition Foreigners Everywhere (2024), with Studio Campo; the 59th International Art Exhibition Il Latte dei Sogni (2022) with APFEL; 82nd Venice International Film Festival with Lorenzo Mattotti (2024); the institutional series of the Biennale with Studio deValence and with Marco Camuffo; the series of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo with Studio Sonnoli; the exhibition Favoloso Calvino at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome (2023) with Studio Sonnoli and with Lucio Schiavon; the exhibition Berthe Morisot (2024) with Francesco Franchi.
Communication: Press office and media relations
Electa’s communication and press office structure is operative in its Milan and Rome offices, and acts with systematic and widespread activities across the country, by dialoguing with the press, taking care of media relations, and conducting direct promotions with the public at exhibitions and museums.
Supported by over 20 years’ experience, through contributions by different professionals (art historians, archaeologists, journalists, experts in art education, museum educational services and digital content creators), Electa’s Communications area develops and promotes campaigns for exhibition projects, museum installations, publications and events with historical and artistic contents. This broad and articulated range of projects includes the conception and coordination of public programs and the planning of audience promotional campaigns and engaging with the public on social media.
Electa’s press office builds its communication strategy on the basis of rigorous, structured, multi-channel information, designed for different segments of the public (academics, critics, museum associations, institutions, professional firms, schools and universities, families, libraries, etc.), in active dialogue with the promoting institutions and scientific curators.
For years, Electa has been working closely with and for companies, cultural institutions and individuals, offering a wide range of services ranging from the design and implementation of publishing projects to the creation of full-scale communication projects for exhibitions and museums, as well as offering opportunities for purchasing copies of the volumes in the catalogue at advantageous conditions.
The organisations that turn to us cover the most varied product and thematic fields: from design to fashion, architecture, photography, the art system and the protection of the environment.
In dialogue with its interlocutors, the publisher provides skills and experience across a broad range of fields, with different approaches responding to the needs and requests of its interlocutors and the type of project. Depending on the request, Electa can take care of all phases of design and production: editorial concept, iconographic research, selection and assignment of the photo shoot, selection and commissioning of authors, choice of art direction, product engineering, printing, launch in bookstores, organisation of marketing campaigns, communication plan and events.
Together with Electa, it is possible to organise events across Italy for companies’ institutional and public relations needs located in prestigious exhibition venues where Electa has ongoing collaborations: from conventions to exclusive visits to exhibitions or permanent collections, cocktails, gala dinners or lunches. Our staff provide all the necessary support to organise exclusive events personalised in every detail.
The sponsorship of our exhibitions and special projects is an important opportunity for visibility, communication and direct contact with our target publics. In addition to catalogues, free tickets, private events, visibility on communicational and promotional materials, it is possible to organise special initiatives aimed at meeting the expectations of businesses and a return of value on investments, while enhancing the importance of the contribution of the private sector to art and culture. It will also be possible to agree on dedicated opportunities of institutional visibility, or to allocate special activities to publics of interest to the Partner.
