The Pigna paper mill and the exercise books of the «new ITALY» (1870- 1960)

ABSTRACT For the very first time this in-depth paper studies the archives of the historic Paolo Pigna Paper Mill of Alzano Lombardo (Bergamo, Italy), which played a leading role in Italian history and culture: so much so that it ended up with fusing its own image to the very market where it operated, that is, the Italian schools. After being taken over by Paolo Pigna in 1867, the great paper mill immediately became known not only for its high-quality production but also for keeping abreast of technology and emerging in a sector of the economy, which in the mid-1800s was fragmented into a multitude of small and poorly mechanized artisan workshops. The Author retraces one hundred years of the history of the company and its production for schools: in particular its production of exercise books - a simple but effective and all-pervading medium of iconic-verbal messages (moral, educational, propagandistic, religious, etc.).