Write a love letter with Italy’s historic fountain pens

The Love Letter ↓ · Valentine's Workshop ↓ · Hemingway & Renaissance Calligraphy ↓ · The Courtyard Workshop ↓ · Italian Paper & Graphic Design ↓ · How to Book ↓ · FAQ ↓

THE LOVE LETTER ↓

What would a Jane Austen love letter look like, written today with an Italian fountain pen?

In Persuasion, Captain Frederick Wentworth finally declares his love to Anne Elliot in a handwritten letter. The scene has become one of the great romantic moments in English literature. Jane Austen's House in Hampshire preserves the literary legacy of this famous declaration, while the Morgan Library & Museum in New York holds the world's largest collection of Austen's handwritten letters: fifty one originals. Austen's correspondence was an art of its own. She wrote with a goose quill and iron gall ink, using sheets of paper that were folded, addressed and sealed without a separate envelope. Sometimes she even wrote across existing lines to save paper, a practice known as cross writing.

There is something particularly appealing about rediscovering this world in a place where writing instruments and decorative paper have been made for generations.

Bassano del Grappa, in the province of Vicenza, northern Italy, brings together Montegrappa, founded in 1912 as Italy's first manufacturer of quality writing instruments, and  three unique calligraphy workshops: a Valentine's love letter, Renaissance handwriting at the Hemingway Museum and a calligraphy class in the Montegrappa courtyard.

A LOVE LETTER, WRITTEN WITH A CENTURY OF ITALIAN CRAFT ↓

LETTERS OF LOVE FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Lettere d'Amore per San Valentino is a private calligraphy experience at the historic Montegrappa boutique, in a room called the Sala delle Eccellenze, or Hall of Excellence. Its walls display portraits of celebrated Montegrappa users, including Ernest Hemingway and Queen Elizabeth II.

The workshop is led by Marilena Bonato, who spent forty two years at the State Archives of Venice and has studied Latin palaeography, historical writing and handwriting analysis.

Participants begin with a visit to the Montegrappa boutique and company museum, exploring collections of Italian fountain pens made from materials ranging from celluloid and titanium to precious metals.

Then come the pens, nibs and inks.

Under Bonato's guidance, participants experiment with handwritten letterforms and compose a personal love letter. The experience is devoted to the physical art of writing, with the gesture of the pen, the shape of the letters and the choice of words all given attention.

There is a lovely literary parallel with Jane Austen. Her surviving letters reveal a lively private world of affection, humour, family gossip and everyday observations. Her characters, from Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice to Captain Wentworth in Persuasion, also use correspondence at decisive moments in their romantic lives.

Writing a love letter today with an Italian fountain pen offers a contemporary encounter with that tradition, especially for a Valentine's celebration or an intimate literary themed gathering.

THE EXPERIENCE

The private workshop is offered for groups of 10 to 15 participants.

Viart lists the boutique visit, company museum and calligraphy workshop as included in the experience. The programme also advertises a 20% Montegrappa pen purchase voucher.

A public edition took place on 7 February 2026. The private workshop remains listed on request, with dates and prices to be arranged directly. No public Valentine's Day 2027 date has yet been confirmed.

Enquiries: Viart
Telephone: +39 0444 168520
Email: info@viart.it

ITALIC CALLIGRAPHY AND THE HEMINGWAY CONNECTION ↓

THE ART OF WRITING AT THE HEMINGWAY MUSEUM

A second workshop connects Italian lettering with an American Nobel Prize winning writer.

L'arte della scrittura, or The Art of Writing, begins with a visit to the Montegrappa boutique and continues inside the Museo Hemingway e della Grande Guerra, the Hemingway and Great War Museum, in Bassano del Grappa. The literary connection is genuine. In 1918, the young Ernest Hemingway stayed at Villa Ca' Erizzo while serving with the American Red Cross. Today the villa houses the museum dedicated to his experiences in Italy and their relationship with his writing, including A Farewell to Arms. The calligraphy workshop is taught by Anna Schettin, a graphic designer and calligrapher.

Participants learn the basic forms of Italico, also known as Cancelleresca, a Renaissance handwriting style associated with Italian humanist and chancery manuscripts.

For designers, the interest lies in the construction of letters: the angle of the pen, the rhythm of strokes, the relationship between thick and thin lines, and the spacing that makes a handwritten alphabet coherent. Participants practise on notebooks produced by Carteria Tassotti, the historic Bassano paper manufacturer. Following the workshop, they can visit the Hemingway museum independently. The experience combines two complementary literary traditions: the Renaissance art of handwriting and the twentieth century writer whose early experiences in Veneto became part of his literary history.  The official programme includes the boutique visit, workshop with Anna Schettin, calligraphy materials and admission to the Hemingway Museum. The itinerary is on foot and operates in rainy weather.

 

CALLIGRAPHY IN THE MONTEGRAPPA COURTYARD ↓

ITALIAN FOUNTAIN PENS & BEAUTIFUL LETTERING

The third experience concentrates on contemporary calligraphy, writing instruments and paper. L'arte della calligrafia con le penne d'autore Montegrappa begins with a visit to the boutique's collections and continues in its courtyard.

A graphic designer and calligrapher introduces participants to forming letters by hand, using notebooks produced by Carteria Tassotti. The experience is particularly relevant to the world of lettering, graphic design, fountain pen collecting and luxury stationery. Participants can examine Italian writing instruments before working with the movement and proportions of handwritten characters. A nib deposits ink differently depending on its shape, angle and pressure. Paper also affects the result, from the sharpness of an edge to the way ink behaves on the page. Learning these relationships directly offers an interesting complement to digital typography and lettering design.

 

ITALIAN PAPER & GRAPHIC DESIGN · THE BASSANO CONNECTION ↓

There is a reason why paper and handwriting belong together in this part of Italy. Bassano del Grappa was once home to the Remondini printing enterprise, founded in 1657. At its height, the company operated on an enormous scale, printing books, popular images, decorative papers and designs distributed throughout Europe and beyond. The British Museum in London preserves Remondini prints published in Bassano, including eighteenth century examples. The city's printing history is also represented in the collections of the Museo della Stampa Remondini. In 1957, Giorgio Tassotti founded his printing business in Bassano and revived the tradition of hand coloured prints and decorative papers associated with Remondini. Today Grafiche Tassotti produces decorative papers, art prints, notebooks, diaries and illustrated stationery. The company's work is featured by Homo Faber, the international guide to craftsmanship developed by the Michelangelo Foundation.

For graphic designers, printmakers and stationery collectors, this heritage adds considerable interest to the calligraphy workshops. The notebooks used in the Hemingway and courtyard experiences come from a company whose graphic culture draws upon centuries of illustrated paper, woodblock printing and decorative design.  There is also an additional address for paper enthusiasts: Carteria Tassotti, in Via Ferracina 16/18, beside Bassano's historic bridge. Its collections offer another opportunity to explore the town's printing tradition. The shop is a separate visit and is not listed as part of the three Viart workshops.

 

 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ↓

Where can you take a love letter writing workshop in Italy?

Viart offers Lettere d'Amore per San Valentino, a calligraphy experience at the Montegrappa boutique in Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza province. It is available by private arrangement for groups of 10 to 15 participants, using Montegrappa pens, nibs and inks.

Are there Jane Austen inspired experiences in Italy?

The Valentine's love letter workshop offers an opportunity to explore traditional handwritten correspondence, a practice central to Jane Austen's private letters and novels. The literary connection with Austen is an editorial interpretation; the official Viart programme is a calligraphy workshop, not a course devoted to her novels.

Can you learn Renaissance Italic calligraphy in Italy?

Yes. Viart's L'arte della scrittura workshop teaches Italico, also called Cancelleresca, in Bassano del Grappa, through an experience that includes the Hemingway Museum.

Are there calligraphy workshops for graphic designers in Vicenza?

The Viart programmes offer practical experience with handwritten letterforms, nibs, inks and Italian paper, including instruction by graphic designer and calligrapher Anna Schettin. They are introductory creative workshops, rather than accredited professional graphic design courses.

Where can you combine Hemingway literary tourism with calligraphy?

In Bassano del Grappa, the L'arte della scrittura workshop combines a visit to the Montegrappa boutique, an Italic calligraphy lesson and admission to the Museo Hemingway e della Grande Guerra.

Can a couple book a Valentine's calligraphy workshop?

The published private Valentine's programme has a minimum group size of 10 participants. Couples should contact Viart about possible future public dates or other arrangements.

Is the Montegrappa factory visit included?

The workshops include a visit to the boutique or company museum as specified by Viart. The separate Montegrappa Experience factory tour is a different product with its own booking conditions.