The activity of the Mazzei bookshops s.r.l. company, formerly known as Colonnese and Friends, began in 2016, when it acquired the "Colonnese" publishing brand and the related bookshops in the historic center of Naples, including one near the Conservatori, a new Spaccanapoli, and also the bookshop of the Royal Palace of Caserta.
The publishing house, which began collaborating with the Colonnese bookshop in the 1960s, has published more than 450 titles, ranging from classic authors such as Dickens, Wilde, Stendhal and Dumas to contemporary writers such as Dominique Fernandez and Bjorn Larsson.
Their editorial care has always been refined and attentive, with the aim of "browsing through European Naples", as "Tuttolibri" wrote in 1990. In 2016, as part of the "Colonnese and Friends" relaunch plan, they were republished new editions of some of their most popular and reader-awarded books in past years, including Dickens' Impressions of Naples with English facing text, Paolo Mantegazza's The Art of Being Happy, Naples and Capri " by Axel Munthe, "The natural superiority of women" and "The warnings to future spouses", and subsequently "Alfabeto Napoletano" by Renato de Falco (also published with "L'Unità" in 1998).
Furthermore, new works have been proposed, such as the "Miracle of San Gennaro" by Henry Weedall and the "Antica Smorfia Napoletana", as well as new series such as "Contemporanea" and "Bussole".
In 2017 the company entered into an agreement with the De Curtis family to acquire the rights to publish Totò's poetic work, collected in the volume "Il Principe Poeta", published in 2018. In 2019, thanks to an agreement with the French publisher Gallimard, new translations and unpublished works have been published.
The publishing house Mazzei Librerie s.r.l. he continued to explore the European culture of Naples, translating and publishing works by foreign authors such as Shadow and Revolution by the Spanish intellectual and editor José Vicente Quirante Rives and Oscar Wilde, the Italian dream by the American critic and art historian Renato Miracco.
In addition, the titles in the publisher's new catalog have gained wide exposure in the national press and television channels, with mentions and reviews in various newspapers and television programmes.
Alongside foreign authors, books by Italian authors have also achieved success, such as Velardi's "Come si cambia" and Peppe Lanzetta's two "praises" dedicated to Maradona and Pino Daniele.
Since 2016, the publishing house has also re-established its relations with the distributor "Messaggerie Libri" and the editorial production has increased steadily, going from 10 to over 20 new entries a year.