When an Obsession with an Object Becomes a Collection

Some books tell stories. Others observe. They categorize, archive, collect. They take the world in miniature and transform it into wonder.
Who hasn’t, at least once, tried to gather similar objects—tickets, candies, shells, sugar packets—simply for the pleasure of noticing their differences, variations, and details?

Whether it’s shapes, names, visual fragments, or shared memories, these publications show how an obsession with detail can become an artistic, affectionate, almost meditative gesture. Pages that make us smile, reflect, or simply look more closely at what surrounds us every day—things we’ve never truly seen before.
 

Caramelle | Archivio personale di caramelle italiane
Olimpia Zagnoli - Corraini, 2025

From the Polo candy ‘the hole with the mint around it’ to ‘Boom! Sting! Fzzzz!’ from Selz Soda to the unmistakable design of Rossana with its transparent paper, Olimpia Zagnoli gives us a personal archive of Italian candies.
A gallery of graphics and memories where we can lose ourselves in sweetness and nostalgia, and where each page is like a candy to be unwrapped. Olimpia makes us feel the rustle of the paper and the taste as it melts in our mouths, shows us the colours and shapes, invents amusing and bizarre anecdotes and invites us into a world as kaleidoscopic and surprising as her illustrations. And after all, what could possibly unite us more than a piece of candy? We all know that sometimes just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down....

The book
 

Herbaria. Piante, erbari moderni e florilegi
Domitilla Dardi - 24 ORE Cultura

A walk through the extraordinary world of herbaria, the product of the vision of artists, scientists, architects, men of letters, graphic designers and illustrators, from the Middle Ages to the present day. A book that testifies to how the desire to read, classify and make sense of nature is one of the most powerful and pervasive instincts in human history. Not just tools for the transmission of scientific culture, herbaria have told the story of man’s relationship with nature over time, often redefining its boundaries and pushing, in some cases, into fantasy and visionary territories related to the powers that were attributed to herbs.

First volume of a trilogy curated by Domitilla Dardi, with art direction by Studio FM Milano, it was awarded the Silver Medal in the Book Layout category at the European Design Awards.

The book
 

Pastina
Emi Ligabue, con un testo di Massimo Montanari - Marinoni Books, 2024

“How many pasta shapes are there in Italy? Those who have tried to catalog them have counted more than 300, and some 1,700 names are used to refer to them. This is the entirely Italian story of an extraordinary conceptual oxymoron that manages to hold together, at the same time, the singular and the plural.”

Pastina is more than a book about pasta shapes; it’s a celebration of Italy’s rich culinary heritage. Through images and stories, it uncovers a vast variety of forms and names—many forgotten or unknown—and evokes childhood memories, family warmth, and the personal ties pasta creates with our identity and history.

The book
 

Insectile Inspiration - Insects in Art and Illustration
victionary

Whether fascinating or fearsome, insects are vital to our planet—and unexpectedly beautiful. Insectile Inspiration – Insects in Art and Illustration brings butterflies, beetles, bees, and countless other tiny creatures to life through the work of artists and illustrators from around the world. This stunning visual journey reveals the intricate details and hidden charm of the insect world, where art and nature intertwine in surprising and delightful ways.

The book
 

Tombini d'Italia
Alfonso Morone – LetteraVentidue

The manhole cover is one of the most ubiquitous objects in our cities, yet among the least explored by design. Manhole Covers of Italy, introduced by Giulio Iacchetti and Matteo Ragni, fills this gap with a narrative that blends history, graphic design, and urban planning, appealing to designers, engineers, and enthusiasts alike.
The first part examines the role of manhole covers in urban transformation processes from the Industrial Revolution to the present day. The second offers an original “numismatic” catalog of 248 meticulously redrawn pieces: a collection of urban marks, signs, and logos. The volume concludes with a selection of images by some of the most important photographers and artists of the twentieth century, who made manhole covers a subject of expressive investigation.

The book