\documentclass[11pt,a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{cmbright}
\usepackage{booktabs}
\usepackage{marginnote} % Required for margin notes
\usepackage[
paperheight=12cm,
paperwidth=16.5cm,
left=-5.0cm,
right=-3cm,
top=0.5cm,
bottom=-1cm,
marginparsep=-6.0cm,
marginparwidth=4cm
]{geometry} % Required for page customization
\usepackage{amsmath} % Required for equation customization
\usepackage{amssymb} % Required to include mathematical symbols
\usepackage[italian]{babel}
\usepackage[dvipsnames]{xcolor}
\newcommand{\VAR}[1]{\textcolor{red}{xxx}}
\newcommand{\BLOCK}[1]{}

\begin{document}

\VAR{place_holder}

\end{document}
