"Progetto Toscolano 1831: a paper, a story, a future", a project of the Paper Mills Valley Foundation with the support of the City of Toscolano, is one of the eight projects selected among nearly 500 applications submitted in response to the competition notice "Invisible Assets: places and masteries of craft traditions" organized by the Telecom Italia Foundation in 2013.
The project was presented on November 27th during a press conference in the Burgo paper mill in Toscolano Maderno (Italy) by the project manager Filippo Cantoni and it takes advantage of some prestigious partnerships: the Paper Museum of Fabriano, the Italian Calligraphy Association and the Academy of Fine Arts "Santa Giulia" of Brescia.
A real start-up making paper craft products drawing on the centuries-old papermaking tradition of Toscolano the technique and skills of master papermakers, but it speaks the up-to-date language of the net and interacts with new technologies: an e-commerce portal in 6 languages (European and Asian idioms), an App on Papermaking Museums, interactive catalogs and video-photo contest.
Three steps will take place over 18 months. In the first step they’ll collect tutorials and trainings and organize the knowledge of the paper masters; in the second step the School of papermaking will begin its courses, which aim to train young papermakers (but also bookbinders and specialists in calligraphy) and to resume the handmade paper production in the former paper mill of Maina Inferiore; the third step will be devoted to the promotion and sale of the paper products.
An ideal passing on the baton between generations because, after seven centuries, paper comes back to create jobs and business in the ancient Paper Mills Valley.
For further information: www.valledellecartiere.it