In 1996 he acquired the Roman newspaper Il Messaggero from the Montedison Group, and the following year two local newspapers from private investors: Il Mattino based in Naples and Il Corriere Adriatico based in Ancona. Since 2000 all publishing and new media have been clustered in the Caltagirone Editore publishing group – the fifth biggest group in Italy. In 2006 he acquired the majority stake in the newspaper Il Gazzettino based in Venice. Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone is a member of the Executive Committee of Confindustria and the Committee of the President of the Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers, and he is a director of the Auditorium Parco della Musica of Rome. In 2006 he was appointed a Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour. In the same year he became vice-president of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Until early 2012, when he liquidated his share completely, he was the second largest shareholder and the most important private individual shareholder. In 2007 he was appointed Director of Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., of which he was appointed Vice President in April 2010. He is married to Luisa Farinon (the sister of former TV presenter Gabriella) and has three children: Francesco Jr., Alessandro and Azzurra, the wife of the Italian politician Pier Ferdinando Casini. Most important subsidiaries Caltagirone S.p.A. Cementir S.p.A. Caltagirone Editore S.p.A. Vianini Lavori S.p.A. Vianini Industria S.p.A. Other important participations Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. Unicredit S.p.A. Acea S.p.A. Grandi Stazioni S.p.A. (through Eurostazioni S.p.A.) Honors and awards : Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour 1 June 2006 References 1943 births Living people Businesspeople from Rome Italian billionaires Italian newspaper publishers (people)