Born in Milan, Italy. On losing his parents, Rizzoli was raised in the "Martinitt" orphanage from 1895 to 1905. He had already established his own company, A. Rizzoli & C. in Milan in 1909. It was a small printshop with its owner and one partner. For fifteen years, also marked by the First World War, it grew slowly, working for third parties. In 1924 Rizzoli's printshop employed about a hundred people and was one of the first plants to print illustrated magazines in Italy. In 1927 Rizzoli became a publisher, acquiring four magazines: Novella, Il Secolo Illustrato, La Donna and Commedia. In 1929 he began his book-printing activity, organized for the edition of the most imposing Italian publishing work, the Enciclopedia Treccani. From 1936-38, the publishing house launched Bertoldo, directed by Mosca and Metz, and Omnibus, the weekly edited by Leo Longanesi, considered the father of illustrated news magazines. Omnibus was shut down in 1939 by the Fascist regime, and Rizzoli promptly replaced it with Oggi, shut down in its turn. During the Second World War, buildings, plant and goods were destroyed by night bombing in the premises at Piazza Carlo Erba in Milan. Rizzoli rebuilt them, launched the weekly Bella and achieved steady popularity with Annabella, which took the place of Donna. In 1945 Oggi was re-opened, edited by Edilio Rusconi, and Candido, edited by Mosca and Guareschi, and L'Europeo, were launched. In 1949 publication commenced of the Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli (BUR), and the Italians started to read the great Italian and foreign authors at highly popular prices. In 1951 the Istituto Grafico Rizzoli was founded, for the teaching of graphic arts, and in 1955 Rizzoli took over and potentialised the entire Cartiera di Marzabotto paper factory. In 1960 the large complex in Via Civitavecchia (now Via Rizzoli) was inaugurated, where the RCS Group is still based today. In 1966 the colossal work was begun on the universal Rizzoli Larousse encyclopedia, on which hundreds of editors worked for five years. Rizzoli began producing Italian films in 1934, and produced many of Federico Fellini's films. Other notable credits include UMBERTO D (1952), LA DOLCE VITA (1960), JULIET OF THE SPIRITS / GIULIETTA DEGLI SPIRITI (1965) and SERAFINO (1968).  Best Foreign Language Film 1963: FELLINI'S 8½ - Producer 1 nomination, 1 Award