Home » DISCOVERING TURIN » The Officina della Scrittura, where the factory becomes museum
21 Giugno 2019
The Officina della Scrittura, where the factory becomes museum
Part of the historic manifacture of the Aurora pens has become the first exposition in the world dedicated to writing and the writing sign
Paride Pasini (translation by Chiara Gariglio)
Some Aurora pens at Officina della scrittura
In the digital era, where smartphones, tablets and computers reign, there is a small corner of Turin where pen and paper are still fashionable. We are talking about the Officina della Scrittura , the first museum entirely dedicated to writing; a journey to discover the writing signs: from rock paintings to the many ways of modern communication.
This museum could only be founded in the historic factory of Aurora Penne in Abbadia di Stura, a former spinning mill of the 18th century where the company moved after the Second World War. The Art Nouveau building that hosts the production department is the center of management offices and in 2016 it was enriched by the museum. The company, founded by Isaia Levi, is famous all around the world for its fountain pens created by great designers such as Marcello Nizzoli, Giulio Natta and Marco Zanuso.
The experience offered by the museum is a perfect mix of technology and tradition. In fact, during the visit our senses will be stimulated: large vidiwalls will catch our attention, the smell of ink our smell and the paper between our fingers will stimulate our touch.
The great success of Aurora is based on the great designers who created the design of its pens, which are the highlight of the exposition. Two of them are exposed at the Moma in New York: the Hastil and the Thesi, both created by Marco Zanuso. The first is a steel fountain pen with a solid gold nib, the second is the thinnest ballpoint pen in the world. With this two Italian design masterpieces other 11 rare pens are exposed, among which also the Waterman’s 22.
You can also visit the actual factory. Here visitors can observe artisans working in all phases of the creation of a pen: design, turning, processing of mechanical parts (among which the most important component, the nib, whose only producer in Italy is Aurora), washing and polishing.
Inside Aurora there is also a space for temporary expositions dedicated to modern and contemporary art. This place hosts established and emerging artists, both Italian and international, whose works’ main objects were writing signs and graphic language.
Finally, the Officina della Scrittura organizes workshops and courses (for example calligraphy and graphology courses), also working with the schools through school-work experiences focused on crafts, which allow students to develop their design, serigraph and fabrics, wood and metal processing skills.
In collaboration with Study in Torino
