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©Luigi Castiglioni
©Luigi Castiglioni
©Luigi Castiglioni
©Luigi Castiglioni
©Michèle Garrec

Luigi Castiglioni

Luigi Castiglioni Bookbinder
Contact
Italian, English, French
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+39 0541730814
©Luigi Castiglioni

Spellbound by books

  • • Luigi studied music at the DAMS University of Bologne
  • • Initially, he was a self-taught bookbinder
  • • Later, he followed bookbinding courses in Switzerland

After obtaining a diploma in electronics, Luigi Castiglioni studied music at the DAMS University of Bologne. But, during college, he fell in love with fine binding and restoration. He began studying bookbinding by himself as in Italy there were no fine binding schools. He began his career by destroying and rebuilding the books, trying to learn how they were made from the inside. When he was 29 years old, he opened his own workshop, and took some fine binding course at Centro del bel libro, a school in Switzerland. His most important clients today are from abroad, especially from France, Switzerland, Germany and the United States. Nowadays Luigi is known throughout the world as one of the most important and experienced fine bookbinders.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Luigi Castiglioni
  • ©Michèle Garrec
  • ©Michèle Garrec
  • ©Michèle Garrec
  • ©Michèle Garrec
Photo: ©Luigi Castiglioni
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The whole binding "à la française" in brown goat leather, is covered with a complex mosaic decorated according to the technique "à la Krause". The upper and lower edges are in black and ochre goatskin. The cover is composed of a rectangular inlay of python skin gilded with 23-carat gold leaf, two horizontal bands of ivory and an engraved ebony plate. The title in calf leather laminated with 23 carat gold leaf is placed above a large tiger's eye. The binding is protected by a folder and a decorated case.

Height 32.3 cm
Width 25 cm

Photo: ©Michèle Garrec
Logique sans peine by Lewis Carroll

Traditional French-style binding in pink goat leather. An old illustration representing a human brain is printed on the leather, also hollowed out with rectangular shapes. The rectangles are covered with green and black calfskin and the title is in mosaic with black calfskin.

Height 20 cm
Width 15 cm

Photo: ©Michèle Garrec
La Solitude sonore du Toreo by José Bergamin

Traditional French-style binding in sand-coloured calf leather. The book covers are adorned with embossed straight and curved lines in dark brown leather.

Photo: ©Michèle Garrec
Gargantua by François Rabelais

Traditional French-style binding in sand coloured calfskin. The whole binding is covered with mosaics of different colours, representing the face of a giant. The title of the book is spread in the mosaic and crosses the whole decoration. The book is accompanied by a wooden box engraved with the title of the book.

Height 36 cm
Width 25 cm

Photo: ©Michèle Garrec
Sérotonine by Michel Houellebecq

Traditional French-style binding in white calfskin and printed according to the Krause technique using different shades of grey. The title is in a red leather mosaic on the cover and in a black mosaic on the back. On the back are also cut-out shapes representing tablets.

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