Quand i pess vulavan, i usej nuavan, i occh parlavan e gh’era mai lünedì…

 

This is the “once upon a time” of fairy tales and legends in the popular – and particular – culture of Brianza and Lariana. This is the way of announcing to the audience that the story about to be told had happened a long, long time ago. Eras gone by. Perhaps only imagined.

What is certain is that this reservoir of mythical material has been, and is, continually enriched by passing from parent to child, from grandfather to grandson. Shaping a narrative imagination shared for generations. Some of these stories can be found here, rewritten, retold and illustrated, to recall that time when "the fish flew, the birds swam, the geese talked and there was never a Monday".

 

"Quando i pesci volavano" is a cultural project conceived by Giulia Guanella, organizer of the Algae Festival, and realized by the cultural association La Beula. The project aims to recover and enhance the traditional legends and fairy tales of the Larian and Brianza area, rewriting them in a form suitable for contemporary readers. These stories are published in a series of paper booklets, enriched by the illustrations of Marta Di Donna and the texts of Francesco Camagna. The goal is to preserve and spread the local narrative heritage, making it accessible and interesting for new generations.