The Importance of Training
The Giannini family workshop is a testimony to the importance of handing down acquired learning to future generations, a belief ingrained inherent to true artisan culture and craftsmanship. This trait facilitates the high degree of accuracy that distinguishes our work.
Expression of a long history and a profound knowledge of techniques, which derive from sensitivity and a love of aesthetics, the Giannini family has always shared their knowledge of applied arts, especially handcrafted decorative paper and bookbinding, paramount in firm’s long history.
Starting in the 1800s, the Gianninis personally trained family members, employees and aficionados, which led to the establishment of numerous workshops in Italy and abroad, as an ongoing expression of Florentine artistic craftsmanship.
Still today, Giulio Giannini & Figlio is an international point of reference for restoration and artistic bookbinding. Our craftsmen continue to share their know-how, collaborating with schools of applied arts, universities and research centers worldwide.
About us
"... i had the honor of taking a worksop with the brillant Maria six generation of Giulio Giannini e Figlio at their gorgeous studio in Florence! Maria was so generous with her time and Knowledge about not only the method of Florentine paper-marbling but also her family's six-generation history as bookbinders and paper artists. i cannot wait to craft something with the papers we brought back with us! grazie mille Maria! " @boundtohepl instagram
"Your work is the best of the whole story . Your shop in the most beautiful spot in all of Florence. Six generations! " Angie Artiles
"Congratulations! Your work is very beauty and is an important tie to the past. I am pleased to own some of your very fine pieces!" Lamilongera
"Fantastico! So looking forward to meeting you and doing our marbling workshop on the 10th of June" Janita Byrne
Workshops
In Piazza Pitti, the heart of historic Florence, Giulio Giannini e Figlio proudly displays its origins in a living museum that, by production with ancient tools and time honored methods, projects tradition into the future. Families and small groups from schools and universities who wish to be “an artisan for a day,” a memorable experience, are welcome to visit.
Reservations are required to visit the historic workshop and see craft demonstrations. The visitor can learn marbled paper production methods and the technique of creating a personalized book, including leather bookbinding, from start to finish.
Thanks to antique furnishings and tools, our workshop premises take the guest back in time to 19th century Florence. Many illustrious people of the past—including writers, artists, musicians and nobility—have paid a visit, even Dostoevsky. The Russian author lived on the top floor of our building, where he wrote “The Idiot.”
