Macallè is a bold, compressed sanserif with a notably big x-height covering over 70% of the body. It features Art Déco elements, such as the low bars of A, E, F and H which also extend beyond the stems to the left. These particularities recall Guido Modiano’s best-selling Triennale typeface (Reggiani, 1928) – even though Triennale did not include a lowercase. Another interesting feature of Macallè is the inclusion of a wide, circular version of round letters C, G, O, as well as their matching lowercase versions.
Macallè
Macallè was released as wood type by Xilografia Internazionale of Legnago (a town 40 km south of Verona) around 1936 and was available in sizes ranging from 4 to 20 lines – roughly equivalent to 50–250 points. It is identical to another typeface named Arancio, which is found in specimens issued by Xilografia Italiana, another wood-type manufacturer located in Verona. However, some years later, Xilografia Internazionale issued another type specimen showing Macallè and an inline version named Adigrat.
Courtesy Archivio Luca Lattuga
AM Macallé is remarkably faithful to the original. ‘The digital revival,’ says designer Alessandro Colizzi, ‘allowed for an optimisation of both design and spacing. OpenType features provide access to the wide circular alternatives and notably to the inline version (the former Adigrat) which is now included as a stylistic set. Matching details and proportions ensure flawless interchangeability between the styles within text settings.’
Wide round letter (ss01)
Inline - Adigrat (ss02)
