A book is meant to end up in the hands of a reader, making it essential for it to be both practical and enjoyable to handle while remaining durable over time. It is our responsibility to create a bound book that opens easily for a comfortable reading experience. The bookbinder’s craft involves giving the book a decorative appearance that respects and reflects the author’s ideas or subject matter.
Antica Legatoria Viali, founded by Giovanni Viali, has been in operation since 1891. The name “Viali” was retained at the request of Giuseppe Viali, and the workshop has preserved its strictly artisanal character, handed down from Giovanni Viali.
Since 1997, this cultural treasure has been entrusted to us, Arena Lucia Maria and Kolb Hans Rainer. While continuing to use the tools once belonging to Giovanni Viali, we have refined our techniques and sought out the finest materials that the market offers in the realms of paper, leather, and adhesives.
This meticulous attention to craftsmanship has allowed us to achieve the following:
- In 2007, we won second prize; in 2010, third prize; and in 2013, first prize in the Concorso di Artigianato Artistico themed "Forme e colori della Tuscia".
- In 2011, the workshop was recognized by the Lazio region as a business of high artistic value and included in the project "La Strada dell'Artigianato Artistico e Tradizionale del Lazio.
- That same year, Antica Legatoria Viali was selected to showcase its work at the national exhibition organized by artisanal confederations and Unioncamere to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Italian Unification.
- With great pride, Antica Legatoria Viali, with its over-century-long history, was included in the Registro Nazionale delle Imprese Storiche, a registry established to mark the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification.
Media Coverage
OMA: http://www.osservatoriomestieridarte.it/wp- content/uploads/2016/03/OMA42Bassa.pdf
La città: http ://www.lacitta.eu/component/search/?searchword=antica%20legatoria%20 viali&searchphrase=all&Itemid=557
Italia su misura: http ://italia-sumisura.it/azienda/antica-legatoria-viali/
Tusciaup: http ://www.tusciaup .com/antica-legatoria-viali-lucia-e-hans-per-tener- viva-la-tradizione/52788
Italianways: http ://www.italianways.com/lantica-legatoria-viali-fabbrica-di-pezzi- unici/
Lazio creative: http ://www.laziocreativo.it/-/antica-legatoria-viali
Roma artigiana: http ://www.roma-artigiana.it/stores/antica-legatoria-viali/
Lens : http ://salon-international-metiers-art.com/antica-legatoria-viali/ (video https://vimeo.com/146556780)
Fondo plastico: http ://fondop lastico.com/progetti/mappa-mundi/la- mostra/aglaura/
Viterbo Post: http ://www.viterbopost.it/2016/10/larte-della-rilegatura-e-la-storia- di-una-bottega/
Mondo digitale: http ://www.mondodigitale.org/it/news/2014/05/copywriter
No serial numbers: http ://it.noserialnumber.org/no-serial-number-magazine- g iugno-2017-una-breve-rassegna/
Additionally, Japanese journalists Mari and Akio Lorenzo OYA honored our bookbinding workshop in one of their esteemed publications.
We were also featured on Alice, the program dedicated to Italian workshops ("Le Botteghe italiane"), which aired on Sky.