UNA FAVOLA DI MORTADELLA – The book that tells the story of an intuition that changed Italian charcuterie

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Through words and previously unpublished photographs by Dario Garofalo, the book engages both taste and aroma, revealing what makes this Favola unique: the rigorous selection of raw materials; a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.