FABRIANO

The first jewel in European Paper making.

Appearing in Japan around 600AD, the process of paper making was shown to the Arabs 'Manu Militari' who after terrible defeat against the Chinese captured a few to deprive them of their final secrets - of how to make paper. The Arabs soon spread this secret throughout their empire so well that it finished by reaching Europe and notably Fabriano in the second half of the 13th century (1264 to be exact). This little Italian village in the Marches region in central Italy profited from an ideal strategic position not far from the Adriatic port of Ancona, where very open trade was done with the Arabs, to become the principal site of paper manufacture in Europe. From there Fabriano became the vector for its re-diffusion to all 4 continents.

Paper production saw a great boom during the Renaissance before a decline in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Industrial Revolution re-launched the paper mill at Fabriano. Pietro Miliani profited from this period to create the 'Cartiere Miliani' paper factory in 1782. He was an impulsive decision maker and developed this business to a prestigious, high-ranking company in Fabriano. His focus was on drawing paper and those suitable for printing and manuscript writing. His grandson Guiseppe Miliani took the company to new international status for high industrial complexity and this won Fabriano a gold medal at the London Exhibition in 1851. After that Giovambattista Miliani, an eminent politician, being Mayor of Fabriano, Minister of Agriculture during the Great War, and finally the Italian Ambassador to the UK took the chair at the beginning of the 20th century and progressively ratcheted up the paper mills in the area, of which Pioraco, current site of Watercolour Studio production, with its wonderful table mould, was one. Giovambattista was the last Miliani family member of the company, which was nationalised in 1931, and renamed 'Cartiere Miliani Fabriano' in 1947.

Know how for more than 700 years

Fabriano itself

A small town of 30.000 inhabitants in central Italy, Fabriano is keen to show its industrial history in papermaking. The site of 'Cartiere Miliani Fabriano' itself is a dominant landmark in the middle of this town, its size of 35000m2 making it very visible and its 350 employees making it a big employer there. This site has 3 cylinder press or foudrinier machines and one table mould machine and has been such since 1977. Other than 'Artistico' water colour, Ingres Paper, and high quality drawing papers, this factory produces security papers including bank notes for euros and other currencies. The security is needless to say very high there.
The Pioraco factory, itself not far from Fabriano, is a more historic site for the group than a mass production facility. Of 1520 inhabitants in Pioraco, no less than 240 work at the factory producing many artists' papers!

Handmade Paper - a perpetual tradition.

Before the first paper mills and continuous line paper production in 1799 each sheet of paper was made by hand. The base process is the same today as was then - pulp making - sheet making with the sieve frame - placing on felt - then pressing and drying. Cartiere Miliani Fabriano is rare in the world as it still retains a handmade paper facility. Roma Drawing Paper is one such example of this paper. The sieve has quite a coarse surface giving the paper its laid, or 'verge' quality and of course the wolf watermark stamped 'Roma'.