On June 1, 2026, exactly ten years after its opening, Edicola 518 reopened the newsstand with an innovative and utopian project, scaling back its commercial operations (which will continue to be carried out at the Paradiso 518 bookstore) and becoming an outpost for reading, relaxation, socializing, and cultural initiatives for the benefit of the community. Edicola 518 reopens as an “Urban Oasis for Cultural Exhibitionism.”
“We’re turning the concept of exhibitionism on its head in a positive way,” says Antonio Brizioli, founder of the project, “believing that in these times of cultural hardship, reading can no longer be merely a private intellectual exercise but must be a gesture to be flaunted in the public square, to spread the habit and trigger positive chain reactions.”
The newsstand will therefore be a public space, consisting of a wooden staircase with a water fountain in the center, and wooden modules that can serve as both stools and lecterns: this is the project developed by Giuseppe Arezzi, one of the most interesting designers on the contemporary Italian scene, and realized by Seed Festival based on the design process “L’Edicola che vorrei,” which involved months of participatory workshops in the local area led by Francesca Gotti (architect), Giovanni Galanello (photographer), and the entire Edicola 518 working group. The space, entirely donated to the public, celebrates the social function that newsstands have historically been called upon to fulfill, leaving users the freedom to enrich, integrate, and reinterpret it.
“L’Edicola che vorrei” is a project supported by Laboratorio di Creatività Contemporanea, promoted by the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture, with contributions from Seed Festival and Umbra Acque. Through the placement of white bulletin boards throughout the city for people to interact with, and subsequently through the creation of a self-managed radio station and an improvisation workshop within the space, the core functions of the new kiosk were identified: rest, reading, access to drinking water, and the opportunity to organize self-managed gatherings in the public space.
Edicola 518 was launched on June 1, 2016, with the reactivation of an old newsstand in the heart of Perugia’s historic center. From its modest spaces emerged a multifaceted independent cultural project that garnered significant attention in Italy and abroad because it was the first example of repurposing a newsstand without altering its licenses or functions, but by renewing its fundamental characteristics: the social role it plays within neighborhoods and the cultural dissemination linked to print media.
The Perugia project was the first in Italy to bring dozens of magazines and artist’s books from around the world, opening new avenues of trade and organizing over two hundred cultural events in public spaces over the course of ten years: a sort of ongoing cultural festival that has never stopped.
Today, Edicola 518—a cooperative with six employees and three physical spaces in the historic center of Perugia (the newsstand, the Paradiso 518 bookstore, and the Quasi 518 wine shop)—has paved the way for a new way of understanding newsstands, a concept that now boasts dozens of examples in major Italian cities, ranging from reinterpretations to inspirations. The newsstand is no longer just an element of urban archaeology, but an opportunity to relaunch ambitious challenges starting from places of high symbolic significance.
“Observing the position of the Sant’Ercolano steps, I wanted to preserve the ritual of everyday life that historically belongs to the newsstand. – says designer Giuseppe Arezzi – Whereas people once stopped to buy information, today they stop to process it through rest and reading. The heart of the project is the fountain, created with the support of Umbra Acque: drinking water is a primary good, just as quality information is. Incorporating it into this context means restoring social value and a concrete service to the community and passersby. I interpreted the kiosk not only as minimalist architecture, but as a livable and adaptable structure, where every technical element is designed to encourage interaction and the free use of public space.”
The three shutters of the kiosk feature works by Nic Alessandrini, an internationally renowned muralist who has created a narrative tied to the city’s founding myth. On the front wall is the head of Saint Ercolano, the warrior bishop who in 549 was flayed alive and beheaded by Totila for defending Perugia from the barbarian invasion. According to hagiography, his head rolled down the steps where Edicola 518 stands today, and was found by the people of Perugia attached to his body forty days later. The reenactment of the miracle of Saint Ercolano is sparking debate in the city due to its alleged brutality, with a few detractors and many enthusiasts. “Saint Ercolano was a warrior-bishop who, through cunning and intelligence, fought against the Ostrogothic barbarians’ invasion of Perugia, only to be betrayed by a cleric,” says the artist. “His head thus becomes, symbolically, a treasure chest of knowledge: it was almost axiomatic to superimpose it onto a place vital to the city’s cultural life. All my work stems from an extreme need for secular religiosity, for the sacredness of the flesh, to bring the body back to the center of cultural and political consciousness as a symbol of pain, of social injustice, but also of redemption and respect. My very mode of representation, which aspires to realism through the use of a physical, anguished style of painting that seeks the wound rather than integrity, aims to convey respect and closeness to the depicted body.”
(from the press release)
Edicola 518, Perugia
Edicola 518 was founded on June 1, 2016, at Via Sant’Ercolano 42/a, in the historic center of Perugia. It was established by a group of writers, artists, and students, who continue to publish books and magazines under the name Emergenze Publishing. The newsstand quickly became an Italian and international hub for artist’s books, independent magazines, and niche publications, also available through the e-commerce site edicola518.com. Today, the project has evolved into a cooperative with three physical spaces in downtown Perugia: in addition to the newsstand, there is Paradiso 518 (bookstore and office) and Quasi 518 (a neighborhood café and wine bar). Over the past ten years, it has organized over 200 events in the city’s public spaces and participated in events, conferences, fairs, and university lectures throughout Europe. It has been featured in major national newspapers and magazines and covered abroad by publications such as Monocle and the Financial Times.
images: (cover 1) Edicola 518, roller shutter, ©Giovanni E. Galanello (2) Edicola 518, Beppe Arezzi, ©Giovanni E. Galanello (3) Edicola 518, water, ©Giovanni E. Galanello (4) Edicola 518, stool, Beppe Arezzi, staircase, ©Giovanni E. Galanello (5) ©Giovanni E. Galanello, murales, Nic Alessandrini
