Villa Colloredo in Recanati, a beautyful eighteenth century villa, plays host to the ancient Scribe’s Workshop (Antica Bottega Amanuense), the only one in Italy and the largest in its kind in Europe; It was conceived and founded by Màlleus, an intriguing and misterious character, it takes such qualities to embark in the study of the scribe art in a world completely computerised and missing, at least in part, the interest in “ancient flavours”. Màlleus has instead the curiosity for things of the past, even the most difficult to realize and therefore to find. Inside the workshop capable scribes produce the art of the calligraphy learnt from Màlleus himself who has attented courses held by many of the great American and English masters and besides having the perfect knowledge of all the various kind of calligraphy he can reproduce the same ancient characters engraved on stone. The scriptorium is situated in the basement of the villa, set among visible bricks and stone vaults, and the environment resembles almost entirely the ancient sites where this noble art was realized ( some scenes of the film “The name of the rose” seem shot in Màlleus workshop).

The ability and professionality of the Workshop go as far as using only quality handmade paper and at the client’s request parchment and watermark paper of total handmade facture, obviously, but also aged with a secret process of the Workshop. The Workshop proposes a wide range of calligraphy styles including celtic, italic, gothic, and all of those which were commonly used in the period from 400 b.c. to 1600 a.c. as well as stone engraving. The precious manuscripts are created using ancient rules and techniques such as: codices, vellums, illuminations and gold plating (using 24 carat gold).

Many are the applications of such a rare art: from University degrees that many Italian and foreign universities are proud to keep on commisioning as a sign of tradition and uniqueness of the event, to illuminated vellums for anniversaries, festivities, prize-giving, and ceremonies, wedding announcements, visiting cards and embossed writing paper, plus invitations to unique or particular events (who does’t keep such invitations recalling something special?) or why not a love letter or a poem to frame...... Originals and unexeptected are the “things” that the Workshop can realize, both on paper or other materials (fom wood to stone to metal). It could seem out of time and almost a challenge to modern technology and daily superficiality to propose in the third millennium a workshop so ancient and out of our common logic of “wear and tear”, but it’s instead a extraordinary cultural idea and a return to the pleasure of keeping a different and unique piece of paper. See our works by visiting the permanent exhibition on show at the Scriptorium or by requesting our catalogue by fax or internet.

Villa Colloredo Mels - 62019 Recanati (MC) Tel. +39-071.757.43.93 - Fax +39-071.757.44.09 e-mail: aba@malleus.it

Created by: Felix Productions