Founded in 1958 by Alberto Mondadori, Il Saggiatore remains committed to its original mission: publishing books that convey a distinct identity.
Its distinctive character lies in the authors whose work it has brought to light: Claude Lévi Strauss, Ernesto De Martino, Simone de Beauvoir, Noam Chomsky, Daron Acemoglu, Paul Mason, Witold Gombrowicz, Joan Didion, Geoff Dyer, Olivia Laing, Mircea Cărtărescu, and others.
Il Saggiatore is based on the Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, and a secular conception of culture. They conceive of books as tools for examining reality. Throughout its long history, it has remained independent, publishing titles they believe in rather than responding to market demands. Il Saggiatore is not an academic publisher; they are not so much interested in current events as in investigating contemporaneity. Its perspective is international, and it supports radical reformism.
Il Saggiatore publishes both fiction and nonfiction, often in mixed form; it believes that essays can also be a type of narrative, and that novels are tools for knowledge. It shuns ideologies. It focuses on the peripheries, believing that they are often the real center of affairs.
The main features of Il Saggiatore are curiosity, exploration, and knowledge. They continue to study the world we live in and help others.