BOOK REVIEW: I colori sono di tutti? 22 domande curiose sul colore

Abstract

Lia Luzzatto e Renata Pompas: I colori sono di tutti? 22 domande curiose sul colore, Edizioni Mediterranee, 2022.  [Italian Language]

Since the early years of the last century, color, and the world surrounding it, has attracted increasing interest of professionals from various fields. Scholars have explored its function and meaning, academics and color associations have organized conferences and workshops that have deepened and popularized this complex and fascinating world. The continued interest in exploring color and understanding its significance is clearly demonstrated by the number of new publications that have appeared nationally and internationally in recent years. These include the work "I colori sono di tutti? 22 domande curiose sul colore" by Lia Luzzatto and Renata Pompas (Edizioni Mediterranee, 2022, pp. 259), which is aimed at an audience of non-specialists with an innate desire to satisfy their curiosity and delve into a path of thinking outside the box. The book is, in fact, designed and structured in a simple and straightforward way, providing answers to basic questions, some not immediately obvious, concerning color and its meaning. The book, as the subtitle suggests, is divided into 22 chapters. It opens with a very brief but intriguing 'introduction' that unlocks the door to this colorful journey for the reader. Each of the subsequent chapters addresses a well-defined topic starting with a specific question related to color and its analysis. Among the many, and among the ones that most intrigued and fulfilled me personally, I would like to mention those related to such questions as 'Does everyone own color?', 'Is color tasty?' and 'Does marketing love color?' In these chapters, the authors guide the reader, albeit in just a few pages, through a succession of information, news, curiosities and considerations of their own that make for lively and extremely enjoyable reading.

The authors have an established and extensive experience in the world of color, both as writers of books and as journalists, having collaborated with prestigious magazines and weeklies, as well as teaching academic courses and seminars. In short, the newly published volume clearly reflects the authors’ mastery of a range of themes and their overall expertise in the field of color. The volume sheds light on what color is and how it may operate in society.