26 tales on regeneration
A book collecting corporate stories that could set a good example for all
Corporate tales – 26 to be exact – interlinked by an intent that goes beyond profit-making. These are the tales that Francesco Morace (sociologist) has collected in his latest book, which recounts the stories of various Italian companies illustrating how to best recover from the crisis and, above all, do so in harmony with a utopia founded on beauty, humanity and creativity.
Indeed, L’alfabeto della rinascita (The alphabet of regeneration), is a collection of tales arranged in alphabetical order – 26 tales, one for each letter of the Italian alphabet, each one corresponding to an Italian company, from the “A” of Alessi to the “Z” of Zanotta.
According to the author, the pandemic could act as an unexpected driving force for a new Renaissance era, something that, just a year ago, no one would have believed. Indeed, life cannot generally provide any guarantees and this is a lesson that particularly concerns this period of radical change that we are experiencing, and it is even more so for companies. The companies narrated are those that (more than others, yet also just like others) succeed in safeguarding the fragile health of a diverse territory such as the Italian one, tackling issues related to self-governance, responsibility and decision-making. Thus, one after the other, we read the stories of companies such as Alessi, Berlucchi, Cosberg, Dallara, Expert, Fastweb, Granarolo, Herno, Inglesina, Jacuzzi®, Kartell, Lago, Melinda, Nexi, Opto Engineering, Pedrollo, QC Terme, Rotaliana, Sofidel, Treccani, Unione Nazionale Consumatori, VéGé, Würth, X Instant, Yomo, Zanotta. Each company is characterised by a particular image and, above all, by a corporate nature that goes beyond the usual management standards.
The volume is further enriched by three essays: one written by journalist Marzia Tomasin, on the importance of companies’ narrative abilities, one by philosopher Roberto Mordacci, and one by designer Giulio Ceppi who, amongst other things, is also the author of the book’s graphics, which include pictograms telling, through the (freely reinterpreted) initial of each name of the 26 featured companies, an idea, a project, a vision distinguishing them. The book concludes with a decalogue of Italian Human Design aiming to summarise the various complex messages somehow embodied by the 26 companies.
At the beginning of the book we are told that, “With L’alfabeto della rinascita, we have taken on the challenge to narrate, in a printed book, the know-how, the ingenuity and, more in general, the intangible heritage that the selected companies embody, considering the actual narrative as both an echo chamber and an instrument for awareness.” And it is fair to say that the challenge has been met, although, perhaps, we might not all end up agreeing with all we find in Morace’s latest literary effort. Yet, after all, the function of a respectable book is also that of fuelling debate.
L’alfabeto della rinascita. 26 storie di imprese esemplari (The alphabet of regeneration. 26 tales about exemplary companies)
Francesco Morace
Egea, 2022
A book collecting corporate stories that could set a good example for all
Corporate tales – 26 to be exact – interlinked by an intent that goes beyond profit-making. These are the tales that Francesco Morace (sociologist) has collected in his latest book, which recounts the stories of various Italian companies illustrating how to best recover from the crisis and, above all, do so in harmony with a utopia founded on beauty, humanity and creativity.
Indeed, L’alfabeto della rinascita (The alphabet of regeneration), is a collection of tales arranged in alphabetical order – 26 tales, one for each letter of the Italian alphabet, each one corresponding to an Italian company, from the “A” of Alessi to the “Z” of Zanotta.
According to the author, the pandemic could act as an unexpected driving force for a new Renaissance era, something that, just a year ago, no one would have believed. Indeed, life cannot generally provide any guarantees and this is a lesson that particularly concerns this period of radical change that we are experiencing, and it is even more so for companies. The companies narrated are those that (more than others, yet also just like others) succeed in safeguarding the fragile health of a diverse territory such as the Italian one, tackling issues related to self-governance, responsibility and decision-making. Thus, one after the other, we read the stories of companies such as Alessi, Berlucchi, Cosberg, Dallara, Expert, Fastweb, Granarolo, Herno, Inglesina, Jacuzzi®, Kartell, Lago, Melinda, Nexi, Opto Engineering, Pedrollo, QC Terme, Rotaliana, Sofidel, Treccani, Unione Nazionale Consumatori, VéGé, Würth, X Instant, Yomo, Zanotta. Each company is characterised by a particular image and, above all, by a corporate nature that goes beyond the usual management standards.
The volume is further enriched by three essays: one written by journalist Marzia Tomasin, on the importance of companies’ narrative abilities, one by philosopher Roberto Mordacci, and one by designer Giulio Ceppi who, amongst other things, is also the author of the book’s graphics, which include pictograms telling, through the (freely reinterpreted) initial of each name of the 26 featured companies, an idea, a project, a vision distinguishing them. The book concludes with a decalogue of Italian Human Design aiming to summarise the various complex messages somehow embodied by the 26 companies.
At the beginning of the book we are told that, “With L’alfabeto della rinascita, we have taken on the challenge to narrate, in a printed book, the know-how, the ingenuity and, more in general, the intangible heritage that the selected companies embody, considering the actual narrative as both an echo chamber and an instrument for awareness.” And it is fair to say that the challenge has been met, although, perhaps, we might not all end up agreeing with all we find in Morace’s latest literary effort. Yet, after all, the function of a respectable book is also that of fuelling debate.
L’alfabeto della rinascita. 26 storie di imprese esemplari (The alphabet of regeneration. 26 tales about exemplary companies)
Francesco Morace
Egea, 2022