Lettering and calligraphy spotting in Italy

There was lots of lettering to admire on my recent trip to Italy.

From menus written on the windows of restaurants to house names painted on brilliant white tiles, I was stopping every few steps to take pictures.

Then in Amalfi, I discovered a paper museum – or Museo della Carta!

Fortunately, my husband and children are used to me going into stationery shops to stroke things, so they allowed me some time to indulge.

I only made it as far as the shop (the beach was calling), but there was a lot of calligraphy paraphernalia, as well as hand-bound notebooks and of course, paper.

I recognised some of the beautiful Italian calligraphy sets as the ones I reviewed for The Pen Shop, but managed to resist the temptation to add to my collection.

I did, however, pick up some paper – a plain sheet and a sheet pressed with flower seeds – which miraculously didn’t get squashed on the journey home!

One of them will be used for a very special commission, so keep an eye on my social media channels for that one!

I developed a slight obsession with the mailboxes and colourful tiles outside the homes of Capri – but stopping to admire them was a welcome breather on the uphill climb from the marina to the centre of Capri town.

The pretty side streets were also the perfect spot to take a little photograph for World Calligraphy Day on August 16, even though my lettering was a bit of faux calligraphy as the only writing tools I had with me were the kids’ pens and pencils!

On our last day I stumbled across a Tipografia (printing works) and if my Italian was a little better I would have wandered in as the shopfront was very intriguing.

I’m not sure what they would have thought of an English woman staring at their letterpress with little explanation!