MAKERS | EUROPE | ITALY | BOOK-BINDING

Legatoria Cozzi | Book-binders

© Legatoria Cozzi archives

The Cozzi bookbinding workshop was founded by great-great-grandfather Alberto Cozzi together with his wife in the early 1900s. This ancient craft has been handed down from generation to generation, and to this day the workshop still uses the same traditional techniques of binding and of restoring paper and antique volumes. Over time, the business has expanded its original expertise to include the artisanal production of fine stationery and the marbling of paper. This technique has very ancient origins: it first appeared in China and Japan, and was later refined in the East, from where prominent travelers brought the first examples to Europe in the 17th century. With the growth of trade, the technique reached Italy and began to influence the major art cities — first Venice, then Florence. Merchants adapted the pattern to the materials typical of their city: glass and silk in Venice; paper and leather in Florence. The know-how behind this technique has been passed down through five generations of Cozzi master artisans.

How did you begin?

It’s a family business. The workshop was founded by Alberto Cozzi, who had been master binder at the renowned Florentine publishing house Salani, together with his wife in the early 1900s. The workshop actually belonged to the female branch of the family — the Cozzi-Lidi line. Massimo’s grandmother and her husband took over the business from her father. The original name was kept out of respect for the founder. In the 1980s, a second workshop was opened, mostly dedicated to marbling paper and leather.

How did you learn?

There is no formal academic training — artisans learn by watching: you “steal with your eyes,” observing the masters at work. For book restoration, Francesca trained under a master who worked in a library. Sometimes, extremely valuable books arrive to be restored. We also work for libraries, including Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (founded from the bequest of art historian Bernard Berenson, a great lover of books, who donated his collection to Harvard), as well as a private German art university.

How do you plan, prepare, and execute your work?

It depends on the commission. Book restoration is always carried out in a conservative and reversible way. Bookbinding follows a sequence dictated by rules, proportions, and technique. As for paper, it’s like a painter’s canvas — it reflects one’s state of mind. Even when the pattern and colors are the same, every artisan will produce a different sheet, in line with their sensitivity and experience.

The marbling process works like this: a sheet of paper or leather is placed on the surface of a specially prepared bath on which the colors float, arranged by the artisan to form the pattern. Usually, drops or fine continuous streams of color are laid on the surface. These drops or threads of color are then “drawn” using thin wooden slats fitted with nails at regular intervals, like large combs, which drag the colors through the bath and create the desired motif, typically the classic peacock feather pattern.

Who or what influences your work?

Our work is grounded in harmony and proportion, so art and architecture are recurring sources of inspiration. We recently gilded a guestbook register inspired by the floor plan of Borromini’s church in Rome. The freer geometric compositions of Wassily Kandinsky inspired another project. Our signature pieces are photo albums and diaries, because, contrary to what people might think, the smell of leather, the softness to the touch, the weight of the pages – all of that brings back memories. And despite the rise of technology, people still need that nostalgic, almost ancestral contact with paper.

What does a typical day look like?

Bookbinding remains the core activity — everything else revolves around it. We have an important client base: professional firms, notaries, and universities. For confidentiality reasons, work for notaries is done on-site. The most satisfying part is that the work is never repetitive, because every book has its own story and requires a different approach. For example, we recently carried out a project for a client with a very unusual request: it was a secret case that had to contain a book. 

We designed the box as a rigid book, sewn and glued, which was then hollowed out to hold another book that we also made entirely by hand. It was a very long, meticulous job. It took several prototypes before arriving at the final piece. What truly keeps us going is client loyalty. Seeing someone come back again and again because they have complete trust and esteem for our work is invaluable. On our side, it’s a matter of honesty — a sense of responsibility and respect towards the client — and it always pays off.

Marbled paper cards and stationery © Legatoria Cozzi Firenze

A place that truly inspires you, anywhere in the world?

We’re fortunate to live in Florence, a city steeped in Renaissance splendor and home to some of the world’s most extraordinary architectural treasures. Among them, the Medici Chapel in the Basilica of San Lorenzo remains one of my favorite places.

The burial site of the Medici family, it was designed by Michelangelo and consists of two funerary chapels dedicated to this illustrious dynasty.

Interview by Camilla Bonuglia

Images from Camilla Bonuglia and courtesy Legatoria Cozzi Firenze