Typography and Printing in Italy
This program will not be running in Summer 2024.
- Spend three weeks in Italy making stops in Venice, Cornuda (a small Italian town off the beaten track with a world-renowned typography and printing museum), Milan, Turin, Camaiore and Florence.
- Design and print a chapbook on the cast iron handpress with Lucio Passerini at Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione.
- We will discover Milan, an international capital of design and fashion with its epicenter near the cathedral and galleria,
- Explore inscriptions in Milan’s Monumental Cemetery accompanied by James.
- Visit the magnificent collections of the Galleria degli Uffizi and Academia in Florence, cradle of the Renaissance.
Italy has been a center for typographic excellence and innovation since the fifteenth century. The typeface Bodoni is named for its designer, Giambatista Bodoni, printer of Parma. In Venice alone, no less than two million books were printed between 1470 and 1500. Italics were invented there, along with the “pocket” book—the forerunner of today’s paperback. In fact, most of the conventions of contemporary book design were established in Italy during the Renaissance. The purpose of the Typography & Printing program is to bring the history of typography to life for students, through visits to collections of historic significance and participation in an intensive workshop at Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione, Cornuda.
This program will not be running in Summer 2024.
Depart U.S.: Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Arrive in Venice: Thursday, May 18, 2023
Depart Florence: Tuesday, June 6, 2023
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Venice, Italy (3 days)
Venice, “La Serenissima”, the “Most Serene", was the epicenter of printing activity and innovation in the Renaissance. Participants will begin touring the Grand Canal by “vaporetto” making a stop to enjoy the collection of contemporary artwork at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. We will visit the Piazza, Basilica, and Museum of San Marco and spend a day exploring the islands of the Venetian lagoon—Murano, Burano and Torcello.
Cornuda, Italy (4 Days)
The Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione is located in Cornuda, in the province of Treviso, in the heart of the Veneto Region. Located in the buildings of the old “Canapificio Veneto”, the Tipoteca was initiated to house typographic artifacts and events. Tipoteca is not only a rich collection of typefaces, but also an archive, museum, print shop, casting facility and library. Our group will participate in a workshop with internationally recognized artist and printer Lucio Passerini. Under Passerini’s expert guidance students will design, compose and print a chapbook in a limited edition, using the historic metal and wood types in the collection.
Milan, Italy (3 days)
Milan, the capital of fashion, design and culture is next on our journey across and down the Italian peninsula. We will explore the National Design Triennale, the Studio Museum of Achille Castiglione, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, Duomo, and Leonardo’s Last Supper. James Clough will lead us on a tour of the most interesting inscriptions and public type in the city at the Cimetero Monumentale.
Turin (Torino), Italy (3 days)
Turin, Torino in Italian, known as the Capitale delle Alpi (Capital of the Alps) is located on the western bank of the Po River and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. It is a beautiful, architecturally and culturally rich city, rivaling Milan in its contributions to contemporary design. There, we will visit Archivio Tipografico, a collaborative working space, where a new generation of printers, typographers and designers meet to develop artistic and commercial printing projects. Turin also hosts the finest Egyptian museum outside of Cairo.
Camaiore, Italy (2 days)
Our destinations in Camaiore include an exceptional Archeological Museum, a white sandy beach and a beautiful, sweeping walkway on the Mediterranean called Il Pontile.
Florence, Italy (4 days)
The city in which the Renaissance was born, completes our tour. Highlights of our stay include the cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus in the Uffizi Galleries, and Michelangelo’s David in the Academia.
Students must enroll in 6 hours for the program.
The courses are:
ADS 532 Typography & Printing in Italy (3 credit hours)
ADS 533 Study Abroad—Typography & Printing in Italy (3 credit hours)
Prior to traveling to Italy, students will be expected to attend lectures and discussions in the spring semester and will be given a variety of ‘research’ assignments to prepare them for travel.
Course Descriptions
ADS 532 Typography & Printing in Italy is a studio course in which students will study inscriptions and public type with James Clough and work with Lucio Passerini to design and print a limited edition. In addition, students will document the artifacts, type and printed matter observed throughout the trip, in order to incorporate it into a personal journal. A publication featuring photographs and sketches of the historic, modern and public type observed will be the deliverable product of this experience.
ADS 533 Study Abroad Documentation: This course includes relevant assigned research topics to be completed during the Spring Semester before travel initiates. Documentation of the travel experience itself will satisfy the rest of the requirements for credit. In a photographic and literary journal of the trip, students will keep notes, reflections and visual information for evaluation by the instructors. Mandatory attendance is required at all scheduled visits during the trip.
The ADS 532 course fulfills 3 credits of core requirements for Visual Communications majors, and studio credits for other majors and Schools. ADS 533 fulfills the Study Abroad requirement for Visual Communication majors.
Participants will stay in centrally located hostel or hotels in Venice, Cornuda, Milan, Turin, Camaiore, and Florence. Rooms range from double to quad occupancy. Continental breakfast is included daily.
SAGE is dedicated to creating international engagement opportunities that meet the needs of all our students and providing resources to support you through the process of studying abroad. Study abroad is achievable for students of all identities including our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ students, students with disabilities, and students with religious/non-religious viewpoints. Before selecting a program, consider how your identities may impact your experience abroad in unique ways and talk with your Program Coordinator about any program-specific concerns. Students with documented disabilities should discuss any accommodation needs with their Program Coordinator early in the planning process.
Check our Identity Abroad page and resources listed below for information specific to you and other students who may be on your program.
Open to undergraduate or graduate university students from any accredited U.S. college or university. Minimum 2.5 GPA required (exceptions considered after submission of a petition).
Linda Samson Talleur, Lecturer in Letterpress Printing, earned her MFA in the Book Arts from the University of Alabama in 1986. She was subsequently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Verona, Italy where she studied under Master Printer Alessandro Zanella. She currently teaches at the University of Kansas and publishes limited editions under the imprint La Ginestra.
Andrea Herstowski, Associate Dean/Associate Professor in Design, came back to KU to teach after receiving a BFA here in 1990 and the equivalent of an MFA at the Schule fur Gestaltung Basel in Switzerland. She also taught design at the Academy of Art in San Francisco for several years. She has practiced design in various capacities at internationally recognized studios in San Francisco and Germany, including Factory Design Inc. and xplicit GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany.
For More Information Contact:
Linda Samson Talleur
Lecturer in VISC
365 Chalmers Hall
785-864-4469
ltalleur@ku.edu
Andrea Herstowski
Associate Dean/Associate Professor
354 Chalmers Hall
785-864-5528
herstow@ku.edu