Testofficina: a unique opportunity for publishing and creativity enthusiasts in Florence

A series of seminars and workshops with leading international publishing professionals on Friday, February 28

Florence is preparing to host one of the most interesting initiatives in the publishing and design scene: Testofficina, a series of seminars and workshops organized as part of Testo 2025. The event, which takes place on Friday, Feb. 28, at the Stazione Leopolda and Polimoda, is an extraordinary opportunity to explore fundamental themes in contemporary publishing, with a special focus on graphic design, radical publishing and comic writing.

Lorenzo Mattotti

An Interactive Deep Dive with Leading Publishing Experts

Testofficina offers an immersive and interactive experience, where participants have the chance to engage directly with internationally renowned professionals. Each seminar and workshop provides an opportunity to delve deeply into the topics covered, thanks to a program filled with clear and comprehensive content. Key themes will include graphic design (visual identity, graphic design, type design, illustration), radical publishing, and comic writing—areas that have long influenced the evolution of the publishing industry. With Testofficina, Testo aims to offer participants a practical and hands-on learning opportunity, showcasing some of the best examples of craftsmanship and creativity in the publishing world. Each session is designed to be engaging, blending theory and practice to ensure a well-rounded educational experience. Furthermore, at the end of the seminars, participants will receive a certificate of attendance, acknowledging the skills and professionalism gained throughout the program. This is the perfect opportunity for anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of publishing, acquire advanced skills, and interact with some of the most influential figures in the field.

How to Participate in Testofficina

The courses will take place in two locations: Stazione Leopolda and Polimoda. Attendance is limited, and the cost is €90. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance. To join, you must reserve your spot on the official event website, testo.pittimmagine.com,, where you can purchase tickets for the various workshops.

Saverio Raimondo

The Testofficina program

• Stazione Leopolda ortese hall 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  Maximage's Guy Meldem
  The Most Beautiful Testo Covers
  English language workshop

In this workshop, participants are encouraged to explore book design through the selection of the most beautiful covers in the publishers' booths at the fair. The choices will form the basis of a discussion (with the publishers and among the participants themselves) on the relationship between a book cover and its content. Participants will then be guided in creating a catalog of the selected covers using a Risograph printer, arriving at a unique, collaborative publication.

• Stazione Leopolda SALA ORTESE 3-5:30 p.m.
  Sebastian Budgen of Verso Books
  In and against empire: Verso Books and the challenges of radical publishing
  English-language seminar

New Left Books (renamed Verso Books in the early 1980s) was launched in 1970 in times very different from today. It was the result of the global movement of 1968 and the rising forces of the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist left around the world. As models for its publication, the NLB looked to France, Italy and Germany. Today, more than fifty years later, only Verso survives from that cohort of radical publishers, although it has recently been joined by new publishing houses. This seminar will illustrate how Verso has met the challenge of epochal changes, adapting to some and resisting others, and how it has sought to define a new radical publishing project for the twenty-first century.

• Stazione Leopolda sala ortese 6:00-8:00 p.m.
  Lorenzo Mattotti
  Genesis of a work. The creative process of an editorial project
  Seminar

Through a narration by images, the master of illustration Lorenzo Mattotti, will recount the genesis of one of his most important works, Fuochi (1984), recently republished, showing and explaining what cultural references, literary and cinematographic works, masterpieces of art and artists, have contributed to give life and develop his imagery until it became a finished and original work. He will demonstrate the fundamental importance of developing one's own world that is nourished by all art forms, including music; the necessary contamination of images between art photography cinema and comics; the difficulty and commitment required to explore, develop and complete an idea. Space will be given during the meeting for questions from participants, with a full willingness to share their professional and artistic experience.

• Stazione Leopolda hall bazlen 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
  Saverio Raimondo
  Ahahah - Writing to make people laugh
  Seminar

Only two kinds of people laugh themselves: crazy people, and people who read something funny. Can a laugh be written? Yes, and this is not a joke. But the first secret of comic and humorous writing is synthesis, so that's it, rendezvous in Florence where Saverio Raimondo, stand-up comedian and humorous author, will hold a small seminar on comedy writing with funny examples and practical exercises. A lecture-conference open to anyone who wants to train the sixth sense: that of humor.

• Polimoda 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  Luciano Perondi
  Fonts, typesetting and readability
  Seminar

This seminar is intended to be a guide to proper typesetting, and the conscious use of fonts and color. It starts with the role of color and visual contrast, and explores aspects of font size, line spacing, justification, and spacing in relation to age, visual impairment, and other specific conditions. Fine corrections applied to typefaces and typographic text will then be explored. It will explore the unfoundedness of some assumptions regarding the role of habit in reading and the alleged advantages of serif or sans typefaces. Finally, the seminar will address controversial issues such as letter symmetry and hyphenation. Through theory and simulations, participants will acquire a set of practical tools to graphically design texts and verify their effectiveness through measurable metrics.