{"id":68375,"date":"2026-01-19T17:25:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T15:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/?post_type=protagonista&p=68375"},"modified":"2026-01-28T10:37:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T08:37:45","slug":"guido-venosta-and-pirelli-guido-airc-and-pirelli","status":"publish","type":"protagonista","link":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/protagonista\/guido-venosta-and-pirelli-guido-airc-and-pirelli\/","title":{"rendered":"Guido Venosta: AIRC and Pirelli"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pirelli\u2019s involvement in AIRC<\/strong><\/p>\n

The association was founded in 1965 as\u00a0AIPRC<\/strong>\u00a0(Associazione italiana per la promozione delle ricerche sul cancro<\/em>) thanks to the initiative of several members of the National Cancer Institute in Milan, including\u00a0Umberto Veronesi<\/strong>\u00a0and Professor\u00a0Giuseppe Dalla Porta<\/strong>, and with the support and commitment of some of the leading figures of Lombard high society, among them\u00a0Aldo Borletti<\/strong>\u00a0(La Rinascente),\u00a0Luciano Lanfranconi<\/strong>\u00a0(Distillerie Lanfranconi), and\u00a0Camilla Ciceri Falck<\/strong>\u00a0(Falck steelworks), who became its President. The following year, other major groups also joined, including\u00a0Pirelli<\/strong>, brought in by\u00a0Silvio Tronchetti Provera<\/strong>. It was precisely at Pirelli that the very young Foundation found the person who, for more than thirty years, would be its driving force and great catalyst:\u00a0Guido Venosta<\/strong>, Director of the Tyres Division\u2014my grandfather.<\/p>\n

Pirelli\u2019s commitment to the fight against cancer<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the very beginning of its involvement, Pirelli supported AIRC first and foremost by hosting and producing its advertising, and by covering it regularly in its house organs (internal magazines, such as\u00a0Fatti & Notizie<\/em>). It also gave visibility and support\u2014financial as well\u2014to AIRC\u2019s initiatives, sometimes small but highly visible to the general public. One example is the 1981 sale of T-shirts bearing a logo reminiscent of the poster for Adriano Celentano\u2019s film\u00a0Asso<\/em>: the initiative was promoted by the singer-songwriter, produced by Fiorucci, and sold for\u00a04,800 lire<\/strong>\u00a0(about\u00a0\u20ac3.50<\/strong>\u00a0in today\u2019s money).<\/p>\n

In addition, for several years\u2014at least three, from\u00a01979 to 1981<\/strong>\u2014some of the best-known names in the music charts of the time joined forces to create a\u00a033-rpm compilation album<\/strong>, the proceeds of which would go to AIRC. The initiative was presented at press conferences attended by city authorities. The 1979 record,\u00a0Cantautori srl<\/em>, was brought to the Quirinale on\u00a015 June<\/strong>, during a meeting in which President\u00a0Sandro Pertini<\/strong>\u00a0received\u00a0Guido Venosta<\/strong>, President of AIRC, and\u00a0Lucio Salvini<\/strong>, Director of\u00a0Dischi Ricordi<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Television played its part as well. In\u00a01995<\/strong>, TV presenter\u00a0Pippo Baudo<\/strong>, successfully treated for cancer, conceived\u2014as Artistic Director of RAI\u2014together with AIRC, the format\u00a0\u201cStorie al microscopio\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(\u201cStories Under the Microscope\u201d), which revolutionized communication about cancer research<\/strong>. It turned numbers into stories of patients\u2014including well-known figures\u2014and researchers, to generate empathy and raise funds, also thanks to the collaboration of large groups such as Pirelli (which dedicated two full pages to it in one of its magazines). It became an example of public service and solidarity on television and is still remembered today as a highly impactful initiative. \u201cBaudo\u2019s first-person testimony, his commitment alongside giants such as Sandra Mondaini and Raimondo Vianello<\/strong>, helped erase the taboo of the word \u2018cancer\u2019 on TV<\/strong>,\u201d writes N. Panciera\u2014just as it was already being erased in print thanks to the commitment and \u201ccorporate\u201d organization established by Guido Venosta, which still delivers results today. Venosta taught many\u2014including television\u2014how to manage non-profit initiatives to achieve \u201cprofit-able\u201d outcomes, involving as many people as possible as part of a broader awareness-raising effort.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid gap=”15″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1768838268440-9471c924-891a-9″ include=”68384,68385,68382,68381,68383,68386″][vc_column_text]Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

Albiate (MB), Villa San Valerio, Guido Venosta Archive: \u201cPrivate\u201d collection; \u201cAIRC\u201d collection; \u201cFIRC\u201d collection; \u201cImages\u201d collection.<\/p>\n

Fondazione Pirelli, Pirelli Historical Archive, \u201cPublications and magazines\u201d (fondazionepirelli.org).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fondazione AIRC per la Ricerca sul Cancro, entry in Wikipedia<\/em>\u00a0(it.wikipedia.org).<\/p>\n

G. Caprotti,\u00a0Le ossa dei Caprotti. Una storia italiana<\/em>, 2024\/3.<\/p>\n

ID., Personaggi: Guido Venosta (giuseppecaprotti.it, tag \u201cguido-venosta\u201d).<\/p>\n

ID., Guido Venosta, imprenditore e manager del Terzo Settore (fondazioneguidovenosta.org).<\/p>\n

ID., Guido Venosta Manager ed imprenditore del Terzo Settore, “creatore dell\u2019AIRC\u2019\u201d (fondazioneguidovenosta.org, \u201cProtagonisti\u201d).<\/p>\n

Historical portal of the Presidency of the Republic, Historical Diary, \u201cThe President of the Republic receives in audience\u2026 15 June 1979\u2026\u201d (archivio.quirinale.it).<\/p>\n

N. Panciera, Baudo, pioniere nella comunicazione sul cancro, VITA<\/em>, 18 August 2025 (vita.it).<\/p>\n

V. Pinto, Sulla via della ricerca, Fatti e Notizie<\/em>, 1996, no. 324, pp. 18\u201319 (fondazionepirelli.org).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pirelli joined AIRC in the mid-1960s, supported the association by hosting and producing its advertising, ensuring regular visibility in its internal publications, and backing public fundraising initiatives. Within Pirelli, AIRC found in Guido Venosta, Director of the Tyres Division, a key point of reference who helped shape the organisation\u2019s communications and fundraising approach\u2014an effort that led from music compilation albums featuring leading artists and sold in support of AIRC (1979\u20131981) to pioneering television formats such as RAI\u2019s Storie al microscopio in 1995.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":68376,"template":"","tags":[57],"class_list":["post-68375","protagonista","type-protagonista","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-airc"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista\/68375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/protagonista"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista\/68375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68410,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/protagonista\/68375\/revisions\/68410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneguidovenosta.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}