Benissimo

Benissimo is a monthly magazine of sewing and knitwear, founded in March 1983 by Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, at a moment when magazines of this kind were enjoying great success. Embroidery was no longer the activity of a lace maker, but a hobby or a personal interest. Directed by Edvige Bernasconi, who continued to devote many pages to beauty, cooking and fashion, the magazine had a large circulation in the early 1980s. Every issue was sold with a life-sized paper pattern. In 1985 Bernasconi left the magazine to join Mondadori, and the new director was Grazia Pierangela Chiesa, who increased the space dedicated to fashion. In 1990, Fabbri was taken over by the Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera group, bringing Benissimo along with it. A new director, Maria Santini, was appointed, and she changed both the graphic design and the content. Benissimo returned to being exclusively about women’s hobbies. During the 1990s, RCS sold the magazine to Cooperativa Editoriale, which appointed Anna Condemi as director.
Bruno Quattro was appointed managing director.