History of the Prize

THE G.F. FEDRIGONI PRESTIGE PUBLISHING AWARD

The Award was founded in 1994 in the awareness that Fedrigoni Cartiere, over the last century of Italian history, had played a crucial role in the development of publishing and the spread of printing style thanks to its support for leading publishers in the selection and definition of paper media in their publications.

These skills were acquired through the very nature of its business but were consolidated thanks to the dedication, determination and ability of innovator Gianfranco, the third Fedrigoni entrepreneurial generation, in creating and encouraging relationships and friendships with many of the main Italian publishers. This Award is therefore dedicated to the memory of a man who believed in the values of quality, innovation backed up by tradition and culture as aspects promoting and driving true progress.

Fedrigoni papers have universal applications in the graphic arts - yet many of these, given their particular felt-marking or laid character, opacity, colouring or surface finishing, are held in particularly high regard within the scope of quality publishing. And the Gianfranco Fedrigoni Award focuses specifically on Prestige Publishing. From the very outset, the Award has attracted works of impressive artistic and quality levels - to the extent that it became necessary to create 3 specific sections in order to rewards projects from different backgrounds which nevertheless all merited recognition in terms of character, innovation, taste, design etc.: art publishing, communication publishing and other publishing (narrative, biography, travel, history, etc.).

Many publishers over the years have taken part in and contributed to the status and prestige of the Award. For brevity, we list only the winners of the latest editions (see list).

Major merit as regards the authoritative status of the Award goes to the Jury - chaired with skill and generosity for many editions by Paola Marini, historian of Mediaeval and Modern Art, as well as Director of the Art Museums and Monuments Complex in Verona - that has progressively grasped the most interesting formal aspects (book design, page layout, composition, binding) and blended them with immensely fascinating texts and reproductions. The members of the Jury in recent editions included: Mons. Alberto Piazzi - Prefect of the Capitular Library in Verona, one of the most ancient and precious libraries in the world (V century A.D.) - Carlo Federici - expert and historian of book conservation and restoration - Cesare Stevan - Director for twenty years of the Faculty of Architecture, Milan Polytechnic University, as well as historian and researcher within the scope of public sector design - Bob Noorda, born in Holland but Milanese by adoption with an impressive curriculum in visual design - and, last but not least, Pierluigi Panza - journalist and professor in architectural, cultural and publishing fields, the latest member following experience on the Jury for the Top Applications Award with the task of ensuring the dedication and meticulousness of evaluation in the current configuration of the Award.