Born in 1925 in Montesanto in the Province of Macerata, the grandfather of Italian games has worked towards the reality of a company which now employs more than 200 people with his imagination as a starting point.

On leaving school in 1944, he was taken on by a harmonica factory near Pesaro, but a few years later the industry began to feel competition for German manufacturers and he realised that it was time to “diversify, get into toys” So he left and so begins the story of his adventure in Toyland.

In 1959, on a trip to the USA, he began to think that the future for the toy market lay in boxed and board games, games with the educational value of stimulating intelligence and memory. This combined with the popularity of the Italian festival of song held annually at San Remo led to the development of "Song Bingo", a hit at the Fiera of Milano in 1962. Mario Clementoni rented 45 m² near Recanati, took on 7 workers and started production.

Over the years business expanded with prestige board games endorsed by Silvan the magician and magnetic battleships, followed by Portobello, The Befana and many others inspired by famous personalities. In 1967 came the big boom with the invention of Sapientino, a benchmark in educational games for which Clementoni is famous today in Italy and internationally.

More than 40 years have passed since then and Clementoni is still producing fun, innovative, cutting edge games for every age and situation which are sold in 55 countries and translated into 16 languages.

Mario Clementoni was a member of the board of the former Macerata Savings Bank and was a force behind the merger with the Pesaro Savings bank, which led to the foundation of the Banca delle Marche.

In 2000 he was a finalist in the Quality of life awards for “ability to mix growth of his own company with a programme of support for culture, art, the environment and social affairs".

In 2002 he received the Benemerenza Internazionale certificate, awarded to those who distinguish themselves by concern for human rights, maintenance of peace and the development of co-operation between states.

He is currently on the board of directors of the Centro Marca of Milan, the Federazione Italiana del Legno of Milan and is advisor to the Associazione Italiana Fabbricanti di Giocattoli of Milan.

And Mario Clementoni remains at Recanati: this busy entrepreneur with a weakness for opera and the works of Dante never fails to arrive at the office every day with a schoolboy’s curiosity to see what new things his creative team have developed. Alongside a fine team of managers, his wife Matilde Brualdi and 4 children Stefano, Patrizia, Pierpaolo e Giovanni also have strategic positions in this great enterprise, sharing the important aim of entertaining both adults and children.