Tipoteca Italiana - Museo della stampa e del design tipografico
Museum in Cornuda devoted to letterpress printing and typographic design, housed in the former Canapificio Veneto.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione was established in 1995 at the wish of the Antiga brothers, owners of Grafiche Antiga, with the aim of safeguarding the historic heritage of Italian typography and documenting the work of type designers and printers. The museum opened in 2002 and is today one of the leading places in Italy for the history of typographic design, with collections from printing houses across the country.
It is housed in the restored Canapificio Veneto Antonini-Ceresa, a ropeworks founded in 1883 in Cornuda: the exhibition spaces occupy the former church of Santa Teresa (1886) and the adjacent guesthouse (1901), restored and converted into a museum by 2001.
The route introduces hand composition, printing and the crafts linked to type: cutting punches, preparing matrices, casting and drawing letters. The heart of the collection is the types, matrices and punches, alongside hand presses, flatbed cylinder presses, platen presses and type-casting machines. A gallery is devoted to designers, printers and men of letters such as Aldo Novarese, and to the Nebiolo and Fonderia Tipografica Cooperativa foundries. Tipoteca also houses an archive, a library, a letterpress print workshop and an auditorium.
Highlights
- Collection of types, matrices and punches, including those of the Amoretti brothers
- Foundry cabinet with 1,083 drawers and over 1,400 sets of matrices
- Archive of lead and wooden types
- Hand presses, flatbed cylinder presses, platen presses and casting machines
- Gallery dedicated to the great figures of typographic design
- Workshops in letterpress printing, calligraphy and bookbinding
Permanent exhibition
- Percorso espositivo del museo – Stations on composition, printing, punch cutting and type casting, historic machines and a gallery of leading figures of typographic design.
- Founded
- 2002
- Operated by
- Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €7 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5students and over-65s |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 7 · Free admission for children under 8. |
| Visitors with disabilities | freeFree admission for people with disabilities. |
| Groups (15+ people) | €8 per personAdmission and guided tour for groups, priced per person. |
| Guided tour for a spontaneous group (second Saturday of the month, afternoon) | €7Single price including admission. |
| Guided tour with test print | €25Duration 1 hour 30 minutes, minimum 4 people. |
Custom courses in typography, calligraphy or bookbinding by booking: €120 (1 hour), €200 (2 hours), €320 (3 hours), €520 (6 hours), for up to 8 participants.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 7 |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
- Hands-on stations
Practical workshops with hand presses and movable type for schools, families and enthusiasts; custom courses open to families and friends.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
- Museum shop
Shop with Tipoteca products; letterpress print workshop and auditorium.
Events & venue rental
The centre has an auditorium.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Guided tours in Italian and English by booking (about 1 hour, €8 per person, minimum 15 people); guided tour for a spontaneous group on the second Saturday of the month, afternoon. For schools, workshops on hand composition and letterpress printing, handwriting and creative bookbinding, Monday to Saturday (booking form on the website). |
