Sali e Tabacchi #4
210 x 270 mm, 202 pages
Milan, Italy (English-language)
Published since 2019
Annual
Co-founded by: Elisa Carassai and Leonardo Pellegrino
Graphic design: Alessandro Prepi Sot and Leonardo Pellegrino
Named after the signage above Italian tobacconists, Sali e Tabacchi is an exploration of 'Italy behind closed doors' through the words and images of Italian creatives.
This fourth issue, themed Voce (aka 'voice'), is dedicated to oral traditions of storytelling and the role these play in the construction and preservation of histories, mythologies and rituals. Etruscan preacher stones, painted grottos, mystical Middle Age martyrs, operatic eroticism, the metallic clanging of a masked festival on the Austrian-Italian border... all make for an issue that adds to the recent influx of folklore-focussed magazines that have hit the magCulture shelves of late.
On the theme, the team explain: ‘It's vital for us to ponder on preserving this vast spectrum of spoken artistry, from proverbs to riddles, tales, nursery rhymes, legends, myths, epic songs, poems, charms, prayers, chants, songs, dramatic performances and beyond. Oral traditions and expressions are instrumental in transmitting knowledge, cultural and social values, and the collective memory... There was a time when iconic bards, poets, artists, saints and mystics believed it their duty to voice the tales of animals, plants, and stones. After all, in silence, there's always that possibility that a divine whisper might resonate through us.’