Stabilimento Tipografico Pliniana
Museum of a printing works active since 1913, with Monotype and Linotype machines and 20th-century printing presses still in place.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Pliniana printing works was founded in 1913 at Selci-Lama, between Città di Castello and San Giustino, on the initiative of two priests, Don Ruggero Fiordelli and Don Enrico Giovagnoli. The first name was Società Anonima Cooperativa Tipografica Pliniana, in memory of Pliny the Younger, who owned a villa near San Giustino. In 1943 it became the Stabilimento Tipografico Pliniana and became independent alongside the other printing works of the Upper Tiber valley.
The printing works is housed in the premises of the former lemon house (limonaia) of Villa Croci. Even after adopting modern printing techniques, the Pliniana never discarded the machines it had used in the past; instead it kept them and displays them in the museum space, where everything seems frozen in the 1990s, when lead production was abandoned. Two machines are still in perfect working order: a Monotype keyboard and caster from 1955, made in England, and a Linotype made in Milan by the Meta workshops.
The route also includes drawers of lead type, matrices in various languages and alphabets, zinc blocks, a Mussano & Sisto printing press, a perforator for postal payment slips, the Super Unigraf flatbed-cylinder press and the Leonis folding machine. By reservation, retired phototypesetters can restart the machines and tell the story of their work in an Umbrian printing house. Since 2011 the museum has been part of the Sistema museale dell’Umbria and since 2013 of the Associazione italiana musei della stampa e della carta (AIMSC).
Highlights
- Monotype keyboard and caster from 1955, still working
- Linotype from the Meta workshops in Milan
- Super Unigraf flatbed-cylinder press and Leonis folding machine
- Drawers of lead type and matrices in Lithuanian, Cyrillic and Ancient Greek
- Zinc blocks, manuals and tools of the trade
- Special visit with former phototypesetters (by reservation)
- Operated by
- Stabilimento Tipografico Pliniana
- Visitors per year
- approx. 1,500
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €5 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €3Children and young people up to 18 |
| Children & teens | €3free up to age 5 · Reduced up to 18; free admission under 6. |
The ticket includes the guided tour. Tickets can be booked online via the Alto Tevere museums portal (MUA).
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Access for people with disabilities is listed among the services on the Alto Tevere museums portal.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
Parking is listed among the services on the Alto Tevere museums portal.
Amenities & dining
- Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi is listed among the services on the Alto Tevere museums portal.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The guided tour is included in the ticket; special visits with former phototypesetters, who restart the machines, and workshops on hand composition and printing with lead type are also possible. |
