The art of the business card

How many times have you received a business card only to absentmindedly put it back in your pocket, perhaps forgetting about it shortly thereafter? Yet there are those who turn business cards into a true art of papermaking, a reflection of the image and characteristics of an individual. Just steps from the famous Trevi Fountain, the Antica Stamperia Trevi has pursued this goal for centuries: founded in 1780, it is now the oldest printing house in Europe, and for over 240 years, in the same location, it has survived the changes of time, the succession of Kings, Popes, and Presidents of the Republic. All this while maintaining the tradition of valorizing paper, among thousands of invitations, letters, letterheads, and business cards, with a single, overriding mantra: "beautiful and well-made," through meticulous study of the paper and the use of manual techniques such as burin engraving, relief, and embossing.

Owner Sergio Franci (also vice president of the Association of Historic Shops of Rome) is a repository of stories and memories, preserved in an archive rich in culturally valuable documents, which he delicately shares with those who are interested in stopping by. This precious resource, uncommon in an age when the commercial pressure of less qualified but more profitable businesses seems to dominate the market, clearly demonstrates the connection between identity, savoir faire, and the art of high-class communication.

This place, inscribed in the heart of Roman culture, thus demonstrates, with the power of a page unfinished, the urgency of putting in writing a law to protect historic workshops, endangered both by unaffordable rents and the commercial pressure of less qualified businesses. Because the Antica Stamperia Trevi is another testament to how craftsmanship blends with art and cultural identity, in a heritage that must be preserved not only for the artisans but for the very image of the city.