Marca Fermana - Petritoli

Antica Stamperia Fabiani

Vicolo del Forno, 3

Telefono: 0734.658213 - 339/7030530 - Fax: 0734.658213

E-mail: stampatore8151@alice.it

Web: www.anticastamperiafabiani.it

THE HEADQUARTERS AND THE COLLECTIONS

The oldest prints that can be documented up to now of the typography in Petritoli, go back to the second half of the nineteenth century and relate to "Typography A. Manuzio". The only traces of this Typography are represented by some books and manuals printed around the turn of the 19th century, whereas of great historical interest are the printed volumes on behalf of Cav. Luigi Mannocchi. The current "Ancient Fabiani Printshop", located in Vicolo del Forno ,3 since 1957, is made up of four very rare presses: A manual cast iron "Press", with a wooden cross base, by the Amos Dell'Orto company of Monza, 1841 (the only complete example in Italy). A manual cast iron "Press" by L. Magnoni and Sons (Monza), approx. 1850. The "cilindric base machine", by Carlo Magnoni & C. of Monza, about 1850. The "Platina" or "Boston", C.M. Zini Foundry (Milan), approx. 1880. In the "Old Fabiani Printshop" there are various antique ‘cliches’, some in copper, others in wood, lots of types of characters (in lead alloy and in wood).

The Project “The Ancient Fabiani Printshop” involves putting at the disposal of the students all the ancient and valuable equipment, as well as well informed staff who can illustrate the stages and techniques of printing, as they were carried out during the 19th and the early 20th century. Students are welcomed into the large room of the printing shop and, as a first step, the the history of printing and the Fabiani family background, Petritoli Printers from 1903, is explained briefly; the next step is the illustration of the print types (normally those used are in metal alloy composed of lead, tin, antimony in various percentages and small quantities of copper ones) and the "composition" of the same, i.e. the combination of the various words that are to be printed. Once the "form" has been composed on the "Form Holder" of the "Press" and both the types in lead alloy and in wood have been assembled, the printer goes on to ink the form, with a special rubber roller. The sheet of paper, previously cut to the required size, is then positioned over the inked frame and, by lowering the structure the form holder is made to slide under the "Platen". With an appropriate lever one sets the press into motion: at this very moment on the sheet of paper the contents of the form are printed. Once the lever is repositioned and the form holder has been slid to the opposite direction, with the result of the operations carried out, it is ready to be set out to dry. The products made are donated to the school that the students belong to and the students’ products, made after their visit to the "Old Fabiani Printshop", will be collected, selected and published in a book edited by the local headquarters of the Archeoclub of Italy.

The educational objectives of the project are: to learn about the history of the art of printing; to know the stages of realization of something printed; to experience an ancient printing technique; to stimulate creativity and imagination; to develop the ability to work as a team and to organize the work through cooperation; to stimulate the comparison of current techniques with the ancient ones: "from the computer ... to the press ... to the computer"; acquisition of historical records of local craft heritage.

Type: specialized-industrial archaeology

Services: Guided tours, Welcome Area, Learning Laboratory

Opening Times

Everyday: 9:00-13:00 / 14:00-19:00. For school visits and groups telephone: 0734.658213

Free entrance