Fascinating propaganda poster displaying the Mussolini government’s plan to address the issue of communication routes in Sicily. The map depicts the island with clearly highlighted road and rail connections, categorized by color to indicate their operational status, planned developments, and ongoing construction. Additionally, the map includes indications of naval routes from Palermo to Naples, Cagliari, Libya, and Tunisia. It offers an intriguing opportunity to examine the evolution of transportation in Sicily. For example, it’s noteworthy how the Noto-Pachino railway line, identified here as ‘in project,’ was actually inaugurated in 1935 despite being now decommissioned. This map was published in Milan by Bestetti and Tuminelli in 1930.
The Bestetti e Tumminelli publishing house was established in Milan in 1906 by Emilio Bestetti and Calogero Tumminelli. Operating under the name ‘Casa editrice d’arte Bestetti e Tumminelli’, it began publishing in 1909. The house released various magazines, including Dedalo from 1920, overseen by Ugo Ojetti, and Architettura e arti decorative from 1921, directed by architect Marcello Piacentini. The office relocated to Rome in 1924 and later merged with Fratelli Treves in 1926. In 1931, Tumminelli joined Treves and Treccani to form ‘S.A Treves-Treccani-Tuminelli’. The company was ultimately dissolved in 1933.
Following the dissolution of the Bestetti and Tuminelli Art Edition in 1933, Tuminelli established a new publishing house in Milan and Rome called ‘Tumminelli editore’. Meanwhile, the Bestetti family continued their involvement in art through Bestetti Edizioni d’arte, which later became Carlo Bestetti Edizioni in 1946 with the involvement of Carlo Bestetti, Emilio’s nephew.
