Workshop “Crea il tuo Ex-Libris” Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan

Following the success of the 2024 edition, the “Antique and Rare Book Exhibition” returns to Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 October 2025. Organized by FAI – Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano (ETS) in collaboration with the Associazione Librai Antiquari d’Italia (ALAI), the event offers the public the opportunity to admire and purchase volumes of great historical and cultural value, thanks to the presence of some of the most renowned Italian and international antiquarian booksellers.

The spaces of the splendid FAI Villa, built in the 1930s by architect Piero Portaluppi, will host over forty exhibitors showcasing works of exceptional rarity and beauty, ranging from manuscripts to first editions of world literary masterpieces, incunabula, artistic bindings, autographed books, 20th-century first editions, illustrated children’s books, maps, antique prints, and works of art on paper. The exhibition is curated by the Associazione Librai Antiquari d’Italia, which groups together antiquarian booksellers throughout the country and is the only trade association in Italy affiliated with the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), a federation of 22 national associations, 39 countries, and over 1,600 specialized booksellers.

In this context, on Saturday, October 25th, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., the two-hour “Crea il tuo Ex-Libris” workshop, led by Federico Blu di Prussia, will take place. Participants will create a personalized ex-libris using linoleum printing, a relief printing technique that involves carving an image into a linoleum surface. After a brief introduction, all the stages of the process will be covered: from graphic design to transferring the design onto the block, from carving techniques with gouges to inking and final printing with the stamps created. At the end of the workshop, each participant will take home their own ex-libris.