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Simone Massaro · Press & News

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Interviews, articles and press coverage about Simone Massaro: his return from the United States to Sicily, BaxEnergy and its acquisition by Yokogawa, the Free Mind Foundry campus in Acireale, and his work in philanthropy and art.


What do they write about Simone Massaro?

Since his return Italian and international media have been following Simone Massaro and his projects

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The first is his return: a software engineer from Catania who spent more than ten years in the United States, where he developed SCADA software used by NASA, the Pentagon, Disney and Heathrow Airport, and came back to Sicily to create skilled jobs.

The second is BaxEnergy, the renewable energy software company he founded in 2010 and that Yokogawa Electric Corporation acquired in June 2024, announcing a €150 million three-year plan and 100 new hires in Sicily.

The third is Free Mind Foundry, the innovation campus he opened in Acireale in 2017 and expanded in 2019 into an international cooperation hub for research and higher education.

The fourth is the monumental roundabout on Via Fontanarossa in Catania, inaugurated on 6 May 2026 around the restored Fiat G.91T flown by his father.

Catania, un nuovo aereo per la rotonda monumentale di Fontanarossa
Catania, un nuovo aereo per la rotonda monumentale di Fontanarossa
QdS PRESS
A Fontanarossa una rotonda monumentale
Notizie Siciliane: Cronaca, Sport e Attualità NEWS
Inaugurata la rotonda monumentale di via Fontanarossa: il Fiat G.91T diventa nuovo landmark urbano all’ingresso dell’Aeroporto di Catania - TalkyMedia
TalkyMedia INTERVIEW
A Fontanarossa una rotonda monumentale
Notizie Siciliane: Cronaca, Sport e Attualità NEWS
Yokogawa Acquires Intellisync and WiSNAM, Strengthening Cybersecurity and Grid Management Solutions | Yokogawa Electric Corporation
Yokogawa INTERVIEW
Yokogawa in Sicilia, 150 milioni di euro per la fase di start | UnictMagazine
Unictmagazine PRESS
ACQUISIZIONE BAXENERGY: LA SICILIA HI-TECH PIACE AL GIAPPONE. Acireale (CT | water(on)line
water(on)line | giornale d PRESS
La giapponese Yokogawa acquisisce la catanese BaxEnergy: previste 100 nuove assunzioni
Lasicilia PRESS
Yokogawa in Sicilia, 150 milioni di euro per la fase di start | UnictMagazine
Unictmagazine PRESS
Yokogawa acquisisce l'azienda siciliana BaxEnergy
Business People INTERVIEW
Il colosso giapponese Yokogawa acquisisce la siciliana BaxEnergy
Energiamercato NEWS
Yokogawa acquisisce BaxEnergy: l'azienda siciliana punto di riferimento per l'energia rinnovabile impiegata in 2mila centrali
Ilgiornaleditalia PRESS
Sicily presented with Kazakhstan’s investment and tourism opportunities
DKNews.kz INTERVIEW
la rotonda - Philanthropy
Isole digitali per moderni Ulisse
Ted INTERVIEW
La siciliana BaxEnergy porta la sue ‘piattaforme intelligenti’ per la gestione degli impianti anche nel settore dell’idrogeno
HydroNews INTERVIEW
Scuole di alta formazione ad Acireale, grande partecipazione all
Giornale di Sicilia INTERVIEW
Formazione strategica alla Free Mind Foundry: "Investire su capitale umano"
Cataniatoday NEWS
Lavoro, ad Acireale nasce la scuola di formazione Free Mind Foundry Academy
Giornale di Sicilia INTERVIEW
Acireale, al via la Free Mind Foundry Academy con 24ORE Business School - hashtagsicilia
hashtagsicilia PRESS
Simone Massaro "Dalla Nasa a Catania Fare impresa si può"
la Repubblica PRESS
Catania, 200 assunzioni nell'hub informatico
La Repubblica NEWS
Inaugurato il nuovo Hub di "Free Mind Foundry" ad Acireale | Archivio Bollettino
Archiviobollettino PRESS
Ad Acireale il campus hi tech con le aziende dell’industria 4.0
Trova Lavoro PRESS
BaxEnergy special testimonial as shining example of innovative start-up at Start Cup Catania 2016 - BaxEnergy
BaxEnergy PRESS
ZHEROS Is Now Available For Xbox One
XBOX Wire PRESS
Dalla Nasa a Catania, azienda software con 75 ingegneri «Se i cervelli vengono dall'Italia, è qui che voglio stare»
Meridionews PRESS
Iconics presenta il Centro di ricerca e sviluppo - Università di Catania - L'Agenda
Agenda PRESS

Frequently asked questions
about Simone Massaro in the press

Where has Simone Massaro been covered in the press?

Simone Massaro and his companies have been covered since 2008 by national outlets such as ANSA, Corriere della Sera, la Repubblica and Rai TGR Sicilia; by Sicilian media including La Sicilia, Giornale di Sicilia, Quotidiano di Sicilia, Gazzetta del Sud, LiveSicilia and BlogSicilia; and by trade and international media such as Energia & Mercato, HydroNews, Sun & Wind Energy, the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast and DKNews.kz. The coverage, collected on the What They Say page of simonemassaro.com, includes news, interviews, videos and podcasts.

What does Simone Massaro talk about in interviews?

Simone Massaro’s interviews return to building a global technology business from Sicily. He explains that software has no borders, that young people should study and work abroad and then come back, and that Sicily should create technology rather than endure it: ideas he has put into practice with BaxEnergy and Free Mind Foundry. In his recent writing he also discusses entrepreneurial philanthropy, which he sums up as “Philanthropy starts the initiative. Entrepreneurship makes it autonomous”, and the role of collectors who support living Sicilian artists in the moment “before the market has decided what that artist is worth”.

Why did Simone Massaro return to Sicily?

After more than ten years in the United States, Simone Massaro returned to Sicily to show that a technology company can grow there. BaxEnergy opened its research and development center in Catania in 2011, and his presence on the island was consolidated with Free Mind Foundry in 2017. Speaking to Quotidiano di Sicilia in 2019, he described the return as a social duty, with the aim of creating technology, not just enduring it, and exporting the knowledge built in Sicily. His advice to young people is to travel, learn from the world and then come back.

How did the press cover the Fontanarossa roundabout?

Quotidiano di Sicilia, Siciliaweb and TalkyMedia reported the inauguration of the Fontanarossa roundabout on 6 May 2026: a new monument at the entrance to Catania Airport, built around the restored Fiat G.91T flown by Simone Massaro’s father. The project was also followed on Simone Massaro’s Instagram and LinkedIn profiles, with video interviews filmed while the aircraft was being moved into place and on inauguration day, and a photo recap of the event. The story behind the monument is told on the Entrepreneurial Philanthropy page.

What has the press written about BaxEnergy?

The press has followed BaxEnergy since 2011, when La Sicilia described its Catania research center as a team of engineers who had come back from abroad. Trade media covered its international growth, from the 2015 cooperation with ROMO Wind to its joint venture with Powercon in India, and in 2016 BaxEnergy was selected as a Game Changer at European Utility Week in Barcelona. In July 2024 dozens of outlets, including ANSA, Corriere della Sera, Giornale di Sicilia and Energia & Mercato, reported its acquisition by Yokogawa Electric Corporation and a €150 million plan with 100 new hires in Sicily. In October 2025 Yokogawa also acquired IntelliSync and WiSNAM, two Acireale companies led by Simone Massaro, and integrated them into BaxEnergy.

What has the press written about Free Mind Foundry?

Free Mind Foundry opened in Acireale in July 2017, inside the Credito Siciliano business center, and the press described it as the largest innovation hub in Southern Italy. Built in 45 days with Sicilian suppliers, it brought together companies working on renewable energy, video games, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. On 27 September 2019 Simone Massaro inaugurated its second space, an international cooperation hub for technology research and higher education, with Huawei Italia’s managing director Thomas Miao, the president of Italy’s National Research Council Massimo Inguscio and the rector of the University of Catania among the guests. In 2020 the campus launched the Free Mind Foundry Academy with 24ORE Business School, and in July 2024 it hosted the presentation of Yokogawa’s plan for BaxEnergy.

Rotonda Fontanarossa:
the story of
Captain Giovanni Massaro's Fiat G.91T

The Fiat G.91T at the center of the Via Fontanarossa roundabout in Catania is the aircraft once flown by Captain Giovanni Massaro, Simone Massaro's father. Its story runs from the 41st Wing at Fontanarossa to a monument for the whole city.

1965

1965 – The 41st Wing in Catania

On 1 October 1965 the 41st Wing (41° Stormo) of the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) was re-formed as an anti-submarine wing, with its 88th Group based at Catania Fontanarossa; in 1971 the group moved to nearby Sigonella. During the Cold War the wing carried out surveillance and patrol activities across the Mediterranean, and the Sicilian bases played a strategic role in controlling the air and maritime space of the area.

1965 – The 41st Wing in Catania

Bright Start:
building opportunities that last

For me, Bright Start is a way to give philanthropic work continuity, structure and accountability. The objective is not simply to fund an activity. It is to help create opportunities that can open new paths for people and communities, while building the conditions for those opportunities to continue over time.

-cit. Ing. Simone Massaro

The individual projects may differ, but they share the same principle: an initial contribution should create value that can continue beyond the moment in which it is made.

Bright Start is the foundation through which I am developing a long-term approach to philanthropy. My aim is to transform resources into opportunities, inclusion and better places for the communities around me, starting from Catania and Sicily. I do not see philanthropy as a series of isolated contributions, but as a way to create the conditions in which people, organisations and communities can grow.

Oratorio Contemporaneo

Oratorio Contemporaneo is a cultural project in development, promoted by Simone Massaro: a living, constantly evolving space where gesture, community and language intersect to generate something new. It is conceived not simply as a physical place but as a cultural ecosystem that transcends the traditional boundaries of art and gathering, connecting urban expression, creativity and collective growth. Every action will become part of a broader system: an open dialogue between individuals, ideas and territories, capable of building authentic and lasting relationships.

Oratorio Contemporaneo is designed with new generations in mind, yet it speaks to anyone who feels the urgency to actively engage in change, offering tools, spaces and visions to transform talent into impact. Its communities will not merely exist. They will be built, cross-pollinated and strengthened, giving rise to a new shared language that connects culture, identity and future.