An extraordinary journey into the world of publishing in Emilia

The journey begins in Piacenza, where we start by discovering antique printing.

What to visit
 

• Press Museum of the daily newspaper La Libertà, one of the oldest newspapers in Italy, with period printing machines, used until the 1980s and then fallen into disuse, including historical typesetting machines, such as Linotypes, Nebitype, Ludlow (open on Saturdays, check accessibility).
• Biblioteca Passerini Landi, custodian of a true publishing gem: Codice Landiano 190, the oldest dated manuscript of the Divine Comedy (1336), (open Monday to Saturday, check accessibility).
• Kronos Museum in the Cathedral, which houses Codex 65 or Libro Maestro, a rare 12th-century liturgical parchment manuscript.

Tip
In the Passerini Landi Library, do not miss the exhibition "Dante's Treasures in Piacenza", which tells the story of Dante's manuscripts.

Staying in the province of Piacenza, we move on to the village of Bobbio, one of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, where we can visit the Abbey of San Colombano, which exhibits:

• ancient codices and a new Scriptorium, reconstructed on the imprint of the original ones;
• digitisation of 15 Bobbiensi codices, which can be consulted in high resolution.

Curiosities
Bobbio has been an important centre of culture since the Longobard era: classical texts that would otherwise have been lost were saved and copied here.
Amongst the people from Piacenza who have distinguished themselves in the publishing field, Giana Anguissola is certainly one of the best-loved contemporary writers. The national literary competition of the same name in Travo, in the Trebbia Valley, focusing on children's literature, is dedicated to her, as is the municipal library for children in Piacenza.

The day can end with dinner in a local trattoria where you can taste pisarei e fasò, typical Piacenza pasta, and local PDO cold cuts. It is recommended to stay overnight in the Piacenza area or in the Val d'Arda to get closer to the next day's stage.

After exploring the ancient village of Bobbio, a symbol of medieval cultural preservation, our journey into the world of publishing takes us to Parma, the capital of typography thanks to Giambattista Bodoni, the most famous printer of the 18th century.

What to see

• Museo Bodoniano: the oldest printing museum in Italy, it houses a book factory with original printing workshop tools, unique and rare editions also in silk and parchment, a correspondence of 12,000 letters, 80,000 items from the Bodoni printing works.
• Palatine Library: an extraordinary place where wonder flows between walls of historical volumes, including manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts from the 11th and 12th centuries arranged in frescoed rooms, such as the Dante Room painted by Scaramuzza with scenes from Dante's Divine Comedy and the Petitot Gallery, which still has period shelving.
• San Giovanni Abbey, with a monumental Benedictine library and main hall with frescoed vaults depicting a complex panorama of human wisdom and justice. The wall paintings depict maps, including one of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza celebrating the Farnese Seigniory.

Tip
Since admission to the Bodoni Museum and the Palatine Library is included in the combined ticket for the Monumental Complex of the Pilotta that houses them, plan some time to visit the Archaeological Museum, the Farnese Theatre and the National Gallery as well.

Curiosities

• In the Bodoni Museum an interactive table reveals several volumes, including the Typographical Manual composed of one hundred round Latin, 50 cursive and 28 Greek characters that Bodoni worked on throughout his life.
• Parma was the birthplace of the Gazzetta di Parma, the oldest daily newspaper in Italy (the first issue dates back to 20 June 1728). Its first copy is preserved in the Palatine Library: it was the scholar Roberto Lasagni who found the deed according to which Duke Antonio Farnese granted the printer Giuseppe Rosati permission to print and sell the daily newspaper in Parma. 

Remaining in the province of Parma, it was in the rooms of the Palatine Library that Franco Maria Ricci (1937-2020), a famous publisher and art collector, met Giambattista Bodoni, falling in love with his art, to whom he paid homage with the reprinting of the Manuale tipografico, the sublime abbecedario that inaugurated the catalogue of the dreamed publishing house. Today, his works are housed in a unique monument: the Labirinto della Masone, also famous for Franco Maria Ricci's large art collection covering five centuries of art history from the 16th to the 20th century.

Moving on to Noceto, you can discover another treasure: the Fernando Libassi Typography Museum, where you can admire ancient equipment, exclusively Italian printing presses (a peculiarity for the period) built by hand. (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 08.30 -12.30 Saturday and Sunday by appointment only. Check accessibility).

At the end of this day, we recommend staying in town or approaching the city of Reggio Emilia to be ready to continue the itinerary the following day.

Curiosities
The Labirinto della Masone, located in Fontanellato, is the largest labyrinth in the world: getting lost among its approximately 300,000 bamboo plants is a dreamlike experience.

Our itinerary to discover the world of publishing could only move to Reggio Emilia, where the contemporary is in continuous dialogue with history.

What to see

• The Panizzi Library, custodian of manuscripts, incunabula, sixteenth-century and ancient maps and very rare editions, is not only a popular social venue, but also a location for events, exhibitions and meetings. The library includes several archives including those of Silvio D'arzo, Gianni Celati, Cesare Zavattini and Luigi Ghirri.
• International School of Comics, with courses in illustration, comics and design. The right place to stimulate one's creativity, immersing oneself in the world of comics, illustration, animation and design. There will also be laboratories, workshops, meetings with authors and open days for the general public.

Tip
When you visit the Panizzi Library, don't miss the opportunity to admire the artwork by American artist Sol Lewitt, who decorates the vault of the reading room with primary and complementary bright colours, in a web of swirls that seem to be in motion, blending in with the eighteenth-century architecture of Palazzo San Giorgio. All you have to do is look up!

Curiosity
Antonio Panizzi, to whom the library is dedicated, was an exile from Reggio Emilia who organised the prestigious library of the British Museum in London around the middle of the last century.

For the last stop on this itinerary we move to Luzzara on the banks of the Po River, to the Centro Culturale Zavattini, dedicated to the writer, painter and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, a key figure of Italian Neorealism.

Since 2015 it has been promoting a wide range of cultural reviews and events, educational paths and workshops, exhibition projects, publications, as well as a library service. 

The dissemination of Cesare Zavattini's work is one of the Foundation's main objectives because ‘A country, which is aware of the importance of historical preservation, reflects on contemporaneity.’