MicroMega is a political, cultural, social and economic newsmagazine published bimonthly in Rome, Italy. The title MicroMega is probably inspired by a tale by Voltaire.
History and profile
MicroMega was founded in March 1986 by the editorsGiorgio Ruffolo and Paolo Flores d'Arcais. The magazine is published by the GEDI Gruppo Editoriale and is based in Rome. Its editor is Paolo Flores d'Arcais. During the first years, the magazine had a subtitle: "le ragioni della sinistra". Later this subtitle was removed. Each number has now a different title, inspired by a discussion theme. Given its format, which includes long essays and articles, the journal tends to cater to an intellectual elite. Journalist Marco Travaglio is one of its better known contributors. Many philosophers, social scientists and men and women of science and other leading figures have written on this paper, including Massimo Cacciari, Joseph Ratzinger, Bruno Forte, Michele Santoro, Gianni Vattimo, Leszek Kołakowski, Marcel Gauchet, Margherita Hack and Walter Veltroni. The magazine was issued monthly from 20 February to 20 April 2006, then weekly during the 2006 Italian political campaign. In this time, it was issued with the title La primavera di MicroMega. In 2007, the magazine returned to the original bimonthly format. MicroMega has an average circulation of 25,000/30,000 copies. In 2006, some issues sold more than 100,000 copies. On 8 July 2008, MicroMega organised a rally against Silvio Berlusconi's attempt to limit the power of the judiciary by getting parliament to pass a law that granted individuals occupying the four highest offices of the land immunity from prosecution during their mandate: they are the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House of Deputies and the Speaker of the Senate. As prime minister, Berlusconi is thus be protected from prosecution until he leaves office. Roughly 100,000 people gathered in Rome's Piazza Navona to express their indignation at the new law and in defence of democracy. In 2009 that law was judged unconstitutional and repealed by the Constitutional Court.
