Dario Mangano, Franciscu Sedda, a cura, Simboli d’oggi. Critica dell’inflazione semiotica, Milano, Meltemi, 2023 (pp.546)

In their edited volume Simboli d’oggi. Critica dell’inflazione semiotica (2023), Dario Mangano and Franciscu Sedda address the proliferation of symbols in contemporary culture, exploring their function and transformative power. Building on the legacy of semiotic theorists like Charles S. Peirce, Ferdinand de Saussure, Roland Barthes, and Umberto Eco, the book revisits the concept of the symbol, once sidelined in semiotic studies, and analyzes its resurgence in popular discourse. Through nineteen essays, the contributors examine diverse cases — from Charly Brown and the European flag to the Gioconda and QAnon — investigating the socio-cultural processes that elevate objects, people, or phenomena to symbolic status. Central themes include the temporal dynamics of symbols, their capacity for identity construction, and their strategic use in marketing and cultural narratives. The volume not only addresses the "semiotic inflation" of symbols but also underscores their enduring relevance as tools of meaning-making in the contemporary world, offering a fresh methodological approach for understanding their evolving significance.