Antonella Dellepiane Pescetto graduated in Modern Literature, studied violin at the Conservatory, earned a master's in contemporary art, and became a certified sommelier. None of those credentials alone explains why she launched an independent magazine, but all of them together do. In 2020, from Genoa, she founded Tessiore, an independent publishing company named in honour of her grandfather — a visionary engineer who earned a second degree in philosophy and theology at the age of eighty, teaching her that the thirst for knowledge never quenches. ORLANDO is Tessiore's inaugural project: a biannual, large-format magazine of culture and creativity that is structured, from cover to cover, as an imaginary hotel.
The conceit is not a gimmick. As readers move through the magazine, they travel the hotel's floors — from the restaurant to the spa, the hotel rooms to the garage — meeting different "guests" along the way: contemporary artists, designers, musicians, actors, winemakers, artisans. The name draws on two literary Orlandos: Ariosto's furious knight and Virginia Woolf's gender-bending, time-travelling hero. The magazine inherited the fury of one and the eternal youth of the other. Past guests have included international designer Patricia Urquiola, visual artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke, the celebrated American typographer Louise Fili, Italian tenor Francesco Meli, and New York textile artist Richard Saja.
Issue five was inspired by the myth of Pandora, featuring a commissioned constellation map by Bellerby & Co Globemakers and an imaginary island illustrated by artist Natsko Seki. The magazine also produces short art films, hosts "Orlando Wanderings" — real-world experiences like an urbex photography session in an abandoned villa near Turin with award-winning photographer Nicola Bertellotti — and has recently launched the Orlando Dispatch, a digital platform extending the imaginary hotel concept into weekly multimedia content. The editorial team is proudly all-female, and the production values match the ambition: Pics & Ink described it simply as a huge, sumptuous magazine from Italy.
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