In the heart of Sanremo, during the 75th edition of the Festival di Sanremo, Favola will take center stage at Casa Sanremo, a key reference point for artists and industry professionals.
Throughout the week, it will accompany tasting moments with its unmistakable flavor at one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Thirty years after the creation and patenting of Favola – the mortadella that helped redefine the Italian charcuterie tradition – Una Favola di Mortadella is published, a book that tells the story of the land it comes from, the Palmieri family, and the intuition that gave rise to one of the most iconic products in Italy’s salumi heritage. A volume that moves through memory, enterprise and gastronomic culture, showing how tradition is, in the end, nothing more than a successful innovation.
Published by Gruppo Editoriale, Una Favola di Mortadella is edited by journalist and writer Davide Paolini, who first introduced Favola to a wider audience in 2002 with an article in his A me mi piace column for Il Sole 24 Ore, before giving it definitive international visibility through its participation in the very first edition of Taste in Florence, the food and wine fair he created. And it was precisely during Taste that the book was presented, on Saturday 7 February at Teatro del Sale, as part of the Fuori di Taste programme, during an event titled Favola & Champagne.
An occasion inspired by that same article in which Paolini challenged the rules of traditional pairings, proposing Favola with champagne, oysters with Lambrusco: a change of perspective that helped rewrite the language of contemporary taste.
Una Favola di Mortadella retraces the story of four generations of the Palmieri family. It begins with the small shop and open workshop founded by great-grandfather Emilio Palmieri in Modena, then moves to San Prospero with the inauguration of a new, large production site driven by his son Carlo, and finally reaches the 1996 patent, when Favola was born. A journey carried forward over the years by Massimo, Marcello and Michele, now joined by Francesco and Margherita Palmieri.
Through words and previously unpublished photographs by Dario Garofalo, the book engages both taste and aroma, revealing what makes this Favola unique: the rigorous selection of raw materials; a simple, exclusive recipe passed down over time; the innovation of the hand[1]stitched natural rind casing – crafted in what is, in every sense, a true tailoring workshop – and the slow cooking in ancient stone ovens, saved from the devastating 2012 earthquake that struck Emilia. A painful chapter, faced also thanks to the extraordinary solidarity of the local community and fellow producers, which led to the company’s rebirth and the opening of a new facility just 435 days after the quake.
Favola has elevated a popular product, transforming it into a symbol of outstanding quality and gastronomic culture, now offered in both its classic version and with Sicilian pistachio. A product that has changed the way mortadella is perceived, without ever denying its roots. Una Favola di Mortadella is the story of a land, a family and an idea that has travelled through time, proving that the most authentic innovation is born from a deep respect for what came before.
The book is available from leading bookshops across Italy, on www.gruppoeditoriale.com, and through major online retailers.
Mortadella Favola will be present at Pitti Taste, the prestigious event dedicated to culinary excellence, taking place from February 7th to 9th at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence.
We look forward to welcoming you at the Central Pavilion, Attic Floor, Stand E/6, where you can discover and taste the unique flavor of Favola.
Marca by BolognaFiere is the only Italian trade fair entirely dedicated to private labels, a showcase of excellence for distributor-branded products.
This year as well, Palmieri takes part in this key event for the business community, presenting a selection of high-quality products.
We look forward to seeing you on January 14–15 at Hall 25, Stand A51–B52.
In collaboration with the pastry workshop Frolleria Anffas Mirandola, a special project comes to life: cookies inspired by our “Favola”, created by an extraordinary group of young people.
Creativity, passion, and teamwork come together in sweet treats that tell a story of enthusiasm and collaboration.
Salumificio Mec Palmieri and Armando Testa Torino tell us the “Tale of Favola” through stop motion.
In 1997, Carlo Palmieri, in San Prospero, a town in the province of Modena, turned his passion for cured meats into something extraordinary: he invented the first mortadella stuffed and cooked in natural pigskin.
Now, this true story becomes a fairytale. In fact, it became the “Fairytale of Favola,” because that’s what the mortadella was called.
The story is told in the most magical way by the third and fourth generations of the Palmieri family and the Armando Testa Torino agency, who saw the potential for a beautiful narrative in this true story.
To celebrate its essence, a completely different visual style was chosen, one that recovered the technique of “step one” — a frame-by-frame technique that requires precision, attention, and time, just like the production of mortadella itself. This stylistic choice highlights the value of craftsmanship and things made with love.
The Palmieri family’s interest in animation and this technique met the historic vocation of Armando Testa for visual imagination and the artisanal language of frame-by-frame. From this synergy, a short film was created with more of a cinematic flavor than a classic commercial, produced by AT Studios and directed by DaDomani for design and direction.
The story, envisioned as a format that could have additional episodes, comes to life from a book where the pages are slices of soft and fragrant mortadella. We then enter San Prospero and meet Grandpa Carlo and his “obsession”: to make mortadella even better. In his workshop, he selects the finest meats, measures the most precious ingredients, sews a natural pigskin casing like it’s a magic garment, halts the cooking time, and finally brands his creation with fire. Thus, a mortadella is born that is so unique it is called “a Fairytale.”
The new spot dedicated to Mortadella Favola will be on air from December 21st in TV formats 30”/15” and on the radio, and from December 25th, it will be in cinemas with the 45” version.
Mortadella Favola l’Originale enters Gambero Rosso’s “Top Italian Food” Guide for the third consecutive year.
A prestigious recognition that confirms the quality, tradition, and continuous innovation of a unique product, once again selected among the excellences of Made in Italy celebrated by the renowned Guide.
Mec Palmieri and Mortadella Favola invite you to Salumi da Re, the trade fair celebrating Italian food and wine excellence. The event will be held from October 25 to 27 at the Antica Corte Pallavicina dei Fratelli Spigaroli in Polesine Parmense (Parma).
Salumi da Re, an event created by the Spigaroli brothers in collaboration with Gambero Rosso, aims to promote and enhance high-quality Italian cured meats.
For more details, visit the official Salumi da Re website: www.salumidare.it
Mortadella Favola Gran Riserva by Palmieri wins the Luxury Food & Beverage Quality Award 2025 in the mortadella category. The prestigious award, given by a jury of star chefs at HOST Milan, recognizes the artisanal excellence and absolute quality of a unique product that is a symbol of the Italian charcuterie tradition.
Visit us May 5-8 at Tuttofood Milan, an important event for the agri-food ecosystem.
We look forward to seeing you at booth H07 in Hall 3 to show off our new products and offer quality tastings.
