EyeItalia

Maria Gianinni

On EyeItalia’s recent trip to Florence, we were fortunate to spend several hours with the personable Maria Gianinni, the 6th generation of her family to carry on its honored tradition of bookbinding, publishing and paper-making.

Founded by Maria’s great-great-great grandfather Pietro Gianinni in 1856, Giulio Giannini & Figlio have been making books by hand for royalty, popes and poets for over 150 years. Their small upstairs workshop (laboratoria), across from the Palazzo Pitti, could well be a museum – containing antique book presses, binding machines, vats for making hand-marbled papers, and over 5000 punzoni (stamping tools) employed in the decoration of their exquisite leather books and albums.  The Gianinnis are one of the handful of Florentine artisanal firms who are still creating beauty the hard way…one won’t find evidence of cheap materials or mass production here. The Gianinni family’s history and craft were featured in the New York Times shortly after their 130th anniversary, and they’ve been the recipient of numerous awards and honors over the years for their artistry, excellence and contribution to Italian culture.

In 1866, Giulio Gianinni – one of Pietro’s fifteen (!) sons – was the first in the family to take his father’s business to a new level of  growth and prominence. Under Giulio’s direction, the company expanded from creating high-end commissioned works to producing exquisite leather and paper books to cater to the needs of local Florentines, expatriates and tourists.

In the early 1900’s, the firm began publishing books in addition to designing and binding them for others, creating Casa Editrice di Gianinni. Their first publication in 1905 was San Francesco d’Assisi nel Poema di Dante e negli Affreschi di Giotto (The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi as told through Dante’s Poem and the Frescoes of Giotto); their next three publications celebrated the three greatest Italian poets and writers: La Vita Nova di Dante Alghieri (1911) and in 1914 Thoughts from Letters of Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio’s Calandrino and the Pig. In the 20’s and 30’s, Giannini published a selection of works by Elisabeth Barret Browning, one of the many British poets and literati living in Florence at the time. In this same era, the firm published Arte Rustica Italiana by Eleanora Gallo,  a collection and showcase of  “xilografie” (traditional and typical graphic designs from Italy’s various regions…the firm still uses these designs in their creations). All of these editions were hand-designed and embellished with the decorative elements and typefaces of the period. Throughout the 1920’s Gianinni exhibited their publications at various book fairs and expositions around the world: in Florence, New York , Barcelona, London and San Francisco.

Today, Giulio Gianinni & Figlio produces an array of exquisite photo albums, writing journals, stationery, handmade decorative papers and desk accessories drawing on the grand traditions of Florentine and Italian design (all of which are sold in their storefront on the Piazza Pitti), and they continue to design and bind commissioned works completely by hand. EyeItalia is honored to offer a selection of Gianinni’s fine products to our customers, with many more to come this spring.

To view our Gianinni photo gallery, go here.