Trip to the Visconti Factory

Visit to Visconti

We sent out our intrepid reporter Isobel Hall over to the Visconti Factory in Florence, this is what she found...

"Visconti; if this is business, I like it. Recently my mother and I were lucky enough to visit the Visconti palazzo in Florence. This is no ordinary factory, being housed in a section of an ex-Medici villa, it in itself reflects the regality of the pens it manufactures. We were greeted by Dante and his wife Carla, and taken on a tour of the factory. Each part of the production line is housed in a different section of the villa, but all are palpably connected. The process has a real artisan feel, and the staff are clearly very highly skilled. I was particularly interested by the storage room where all parts of each pen were housed for assembly, purely for the fact you could have hours of fun opening and closing draws. Simple pleasures. The company has a real family feel which I'm sure has had an impact on its success, and I am already looking forward to the arrival of the new Van Gogh colour, which in the flesh really is striking. Watch this space!"

The pictures emphasis the almost unique combination of art, artistry and industry that goes into the manufacture of fine pens. It does look a little as though the the there is an "upstairs / downstairs" split between the offices and the manufacturing area, but Isobel tells me that the it is actually quite pleasant in the workshops - possibly more pleasant in a Florentian summer!

The Pictures show:
- The room of parts
- Dante Del Vecchio holds court
- the Manufactory - carftsman at work
- Pens in the making
- A palatial office
- Lunch break for the guests
- Family Photo