Franco Cosimo Panini - Idee e Progetti per il mondo della Cultura

Franco Cosimo Panini

projects and ideas

for the cultural world

Who we are

FRANCO COSIMO PANINI EDITORE is the publishing house founded by Franco Cosimo Panini in 1989 after selling the famous stickers company. From the very beginning, it has specialised in publishing art, history and archaeology books, children’s books and merchandise. Over the years, it has expanded its activities in the field of Digital Humanities, thanks to the acquisition of Haltadefinizione, a company dedicated to the digitization, conservation and valorization of cultural heritage with cutting-edge technologies. The development of a cultural enterprise ecosystem broadened our activities through investments in leading companies specialised in document scanning, metadata and archiving (Hyperborea), hardware development, digitization and management software for images (Memooria). This corporate ecosystem gives rise to sophisticated digital architecture, made up of services, hardware and software solutions capable of creating, managing and making any digital cultural object available. With a decade of experience in the multiple aspects of Digital Humanities, we are able to design and coordinate large digitization projects in museums, archives and libraries both in Italy and internationally.

Over 30 years of history

Catalogues
and Art Books

We take care of every step of the editorial production process, from graphic design and editing to layout and printing. We began more than thirty years ago with the first books of history and archaeology published under the Panini brand and we have continued with many partnerships since then. We know how to orchestrate expressive forms and different stylistic languages, from scientific texts to comic books, from exhibition catalogues to illustrated books. All of these add value to the works in question and to the public image of our collaborators as well.

We work with the most important museums in Italy, including the Museo Egizio of Turin, MAUTO - the National Automobile Museum in Turin, the Musei Civici of Verona, the Gallerie Estensi of Modena, Ferrara and Sassuolo, the Villa Farnesina in Rome and FMAV, Modena Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Books for Children
and Teenagers

Our editorial staff specialized in children’s books produces about one hundred titles per year, including books for children up to 3 years old, characters likePimpa and Giulio Coniglio and books by the French artist Hervé Tullet. This experience, combined with the creativity of our illustrators, allows us to process or translate even the most complex content into clear, fun and visually accurate texts.

Pimpa introduces herself as an exceptional guide suitable for children to discover cities and museums, perfect for a family trip.The guides are written with an experiential approach that stimulatespowers of observation and enriches the visit through games,activities and new paths of exploration..

Character
Design

We manage the concept and development of illustrated characters, with personality and functional qualities that will represent our client acrossall communication channels for children: from books to merchandise,from the website to educational activities. An example is the creation of the Bandage Band (“La Banda delle Bende”) for the Museo Egizio and the characters designed to present the project Toward2030 for the Museo Lavazza, the museum of the celebrated coffee company. Character design is a strategic operation which combines editorial, marketing and design. The characters are able to make an emotional connection with the target audience.

The Bandage Band is also a synonym of families and children, the reference point for those who visit Museo Egizio with little ones.Our books’ characters can be found in the website and in the museum itself as special guides that identify itineraries designed for children.

Collaborations
and partnerships

We work with museums, associations, festivals and anyone looking for targeted and effective ways to reach children. We create ad hoc editorial products, supporting the development of teaching games with a promotional purpose. We adapt our formats to create customized products for our partners. We design and create characters for these purposes. We develop cooperative marketing ideas for all kinds of companies that are targeting children and families.

THE PIMPA EXHIBITION
In 2019 we were partners with MAXXI, the National Museum of 21st-Century Arts in Rome, in the concept and design of the children’s space for a large exhibition dedicated to Altan, the famous Italian comics artist and satirist: “Altan, Pimpa, Cipputi and Other Thinkers”.

Communication

We actively engage in communicating with the general public about our clients’ projects, in many different ways. We release the news through various channels, beginning with a press release sent to a targeted list and continuing with social media and newsletters. We are able to reach a wide audience with good coverage in all forms of media.

With Milan Museo del Novecento and the Milan Municipal press office, we organized an exclusive press event, during a digital acquisition process taking place on some paintings by twentieth-century masters including Boccioni, Modigliani, Kandinsky and Klee. Press members got to view the digital photographic process, which resulted in a massive press coverage.

Solutions for
Exhibitions and Events

We design and develop digital and multimedia solutions to improve the experience of visiting a museum.We combine technology (augmented reality, 3D, virtual tours etc.) with a carefully crafted and engaging story. We run educational entertainment events for children and teenagers such as the Comix Games, a series of language games in which schools from all over Italy can participate.

We produced the exhibition “Magnifici tre” (The Magnificent Three) for the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence. These precious books belonged to the daughters of Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence. They were exhibited for the first time in five centuries. For this occasion, we organized the entire exhibition, from its physical layout to the captions in the exhibit rooms and the integrated communication campaign.

Large Scale
Digitization Projects

Having an artistic, librarian or documentary heritage means possessing a legacy and a resource to witness, represent and celebrate stories, people, ideas, cultures, objects and identity. We are experts in the management of complex integrated digitization projects that provide a unique solution to the client’s needs. Our services include the ability to work with very large formats, evaluation, restoration and digitization with metadata of collections of millions of documents as well as the design and production of special scanners for digital acquisition.

In less than two years, we conducted the digital acquisition project of various fonds of the Gallerie Estensi in Modena and reorganized files acquired in the past for a total of 980,000 pages, including 800 extensive maps and scrolls. We have also developed an innovative platform for the publication of images. It was the first Italian digital library built from the ground up with the IIIF Image and Presentation API. The project is now continuing with the acquisition of significant new funds, including illuminated manuscripts and an autograph library.

Digitization of
Document Collections

We offer high-definition reproduction services for archives, libraries and photographic collections. We have done hundreds of digitization projects with millions of digital images. The end result is a digital entity that promises to remain accessible for a long time and which supports conservation and wise management of the original.

We have worked with a very diverse set of clients, such as the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the Gallerie Estensi, the State Archives of Milan, Modena, Bologna, Florence, Trieste, Bergamo and Verona, the Historical Archives of the Dioceses of Taranto, Lucca, Volterra, Bergamo and Brescia and the Corporate Archives of Unicredit, Pirelli and FCA/Alfa Romeo.

Ultra-High Definition
Gigapixel

Gigapixel, 3D and Large-Size Formats: our main goal is to preserve and valorize cultural heritage by using digital technology for ultra-high definition and 3D digital photographic acquisition. We have considerable experience in scanning very large works such as frescoes, paintings, geographic maps, statues, tapestries, etc. We are careful to organize digital photography while respecting the physical conditions and placement of the works being photographed. We are always able to obtain excellent results under any conditions for photography, without having to touch or move the works. Even in very tight spaces, or where there is protective glass or a frame in place, that does not limit our ability to do our job.

For the Galleria Nazionale of Umbria we used ultra-high definition digital photography for the acquisition of more than 200 works, including paintings, frescoes, sculpture, precious furnishings and altar pieces. The project perfectly summarizes how the technologies the company developed can be easily applied to any type of work of art, always obtaining the highest quality.

Conservation and
Diagnostic Services

Cultural artefacts are by nature subject to decay over time, as the physical, chemical and biological processes of aging combine to compromise the legibility of a work. Ultra-high definition Gigapixel technology can be applied to UV (ultraviolet), IR (infrared) or multispectral analysis, which are all important tools for monitoring conservation status.

With specially designed multimedia viewing stations, we can compare images captured with other types of photography, or compare digital images taken over a certain period. Such is the case of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Adoration of the Magi. It was digitized in 2013. Then it was digitized again in 2017. The two digitizations can be compared side-by-side in a viewer that offers a very close-up view of the painting’s surface before and after its restoration.

Services for Archives
Including Metadata

Since 1998, Hyperborea has been a fundamental player in the world of archives, with a unique combination of the skills of archivists and programmers. For repositories and intermediary archives (including hybrid ones), we offer inventory and disposal services. For historical archives, we begin with descriptions, cataloguing and application of metadata to the records. We also manage publications and public-facing online access to archival materials. All of this relies on Hyperborea’s own web application Arianna4, the back-end Arianna4Work and the public-facing front end, Arianna4View.
WWW.HYPERBOREA.COM

For the “Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca di Stato”, we have carried out a logical and physical reorganization of the depository and historical archives, for a total of over 13,000 linear meters of documents. The Agency aimed to optimise logistical aspects and improve access to the stored documentation. This goal has been achieved, with the elimination of more than 40% of the depository documents and the delivery of new policies for the preservation of historical documents.

Services for Archives Including Metadata

Platform
Services

Coosmo is the software we developed for the management and live presentation of large digital files. Gigapixel images, for example, are very large files that require specific software and large memory capacity. Our platform allows for quick and easy viewing of different contents. It works in both the open-source and licensed worlds and is compatible with IIIF Image and Presentation APIs. For a higher grade of IP protection, a visible, customizable, multilevel watermark and an invisible watermark can be placed on the file. We manage archives for around 20 million images and 50 TB of data, many of which belong to museums that currently use our image management software.
WWW.HALTADEFINIZIONE.COM

Our software manages images of numerous entities, including the the Galleria dell’Accademia of Florence, the Istituto Svizzero, the Archivio Centrale dello Stato, the State Archives in Venice, the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan and the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia. The platform also allows the user to put together “stories” to get a deeper understanding and a richer experience. A good example is the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper.

Hardware for
Digital Humanities

Over our long history of digitizing works of art and documents, we found it necessary to build in-house hardware and software solutions powerful enough to handle the requirements of ultra-high definition image processing, which were not available on the open market. Memooria has designed, produced and brought to market scanners for 2D and 3D digital acquisition to more effectively meet our clients’ requirements.WWW.MEMOORIA.ORG

Atlas Hawk is the world’s first robotic scanner, that can digitize paper documents, whether the pages are bound or unbound. It has two glass plates made of ultra-fine and anti-reflective tempered glass, which are motorized and move independently, on which to place the documents. The scanner and its software are certified for Industry 4.0.

Replicas of
Works of Art

We make 1:1 replicas of important masterpieces using ultra-high definition Gigapixel digital images and 3D scanning of the painting’s surface. With Franco Cosimo Panini’s experience in producing precious replicas, these are identical to the originals in colour, surface details and support. They offer numerous opportunities for use, such as the ability to show works which can not be transported in far-away exhibitions, to replace paintings in their original location which have been brought to museums, and for teaching purposes.

After more than 200 years, a replica of The Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael has been brought back to its original place in the church of San Francesco in the town of Città di Castello in Umbria. The reproduction of Raphael’s masterpiece, whose original is nowin the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, made it possible to finally bring the painting back to its original location.

Reproduction
of Manuscripts

We produced our first facsimile edition in 1995: it was the Bible of Borso d’Este, reproduced with unprecedented colour fidelity. Since then we have produced several other limited edition reproductions, constantly updating the techniques of photography, image processing and printing, getting closer to perfection with each one. The digital facsimiles that are available today give libraries new power to protect and valorize their collections. They also point to new paths for research and help to reach out to new audiences.

An example of a fruitful collaboration with libraries is the Sforza-Savoia Legendarium project, a manuscript kept at the Biblioteca Reale of Turin. In addition to the facsimile edition and the scientific volume, we have financed the restoration of the codex and built an interactive viewing station for virtual navigation through the work.

Open Source
Digital Publishing

We build and manage digital publishing platforms for peer-reviewed open-source publishing, in accordance with international scientific standards, including online indexing of official bibliographic data. Our publications support the preservation and valorization of museum collections in a user-friendly format. They may contain IIIF images, they are in mobile-friendly PDF format, strictly following scientific publishing standards and they are downloadable for offline viewing.

With these criteria, we have developed the online journal of the Museo Egizio of Turin, RIVISTA.MUSEOEGIZIO.IT, which is a multi-lingual open-access publication. It is integrated with the museum’s bibliographic software and contents and features rich visuals such as a 3D model viewer.

Merchandising
for Museums

For more than twenty years we have been making products for stationery stores and large retailers, such as diaries, gifts, stationery, bags and much more. Today we put our experience to work to design and produce quality merchandise for museum bookshops. Our copywriters and designers work side by side to create products that are not only beautiful but rich in content and consistent with the aesthetic and identity of the museum they represent.

We created the Heritage Collection for the Museo Egizio, including handbags, agendas, notebooks and personal stationery. These items take inspiration from the archaeological discoveries of the early twentieth century, in ways that show Egyptian designs without falling into clichés.

Merchandising
for kids

We have leveraged our experience to create stationery, pins, backpacks, canvas bags, t-shirts and plush toys for children. The result is two custom lines dedicated to Pimpa and the Bandage Band.Our characters Pimpa, Giulio Coniglio and the Bandage Band are also protagonists in board games such as classic bingo, goose, memory games, dominoes and quiz card games.

THE BANDAGE BAND, FROM BOOKS TO EVENTS
RischiaThot is an exciting card game with 150 questions about Ancient Egypt that features the Bandage Band as protagonists. The game was played among schools at the Book Fair of Turin.

E-commerce

In order to create and manage an online shop, you need to coordinate different skills and resources. You would need designers who can outline thegraphical interface, programmers who can develop the platform (and keep itup to date), advanced management software to organize products, copywritersand SEO experts who can present articles creatively and effectively and, finally,a solid and efficient logistics system who can ship the goods to the customer.Since we have all these skills in our company, it is easy to offer a completeand highly personalized e-commerce service.

Besides our publishing company’s own online shop SHOP.FRANCOPANINI.IT, we have developed and continue to run Museo Egizio’s online store, RIVISTA.MUSEOEGIZIO.IT and also that of the Italian FS Foundation, SHOP.FONDAZIONEFS.IT

Back to school

The School Division of Franco Cosimo Panini specializes in the production and distribution of stationery and accessories for school and for fun, greeting cards and branded note paper with its own and licensed brands. Our flagship brand is Comix, which is owned by the company. For many years Comix has been the best-selling personal agenda book in Italy. Franco Cosimo Panini has built up its product line by signing agreements with major brands such as Netflix and Nintendo and has acquired licenses for famous gaming brands such as Minecraft, Fortnite and Super Mario, TV series such as Squid Game, La Casa de Papel and Stranger Things and for brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Panini Footballers and many others. The most recent acquisitions come from the world of Anime and Manga, including One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, My Hero Academia and Attack on Titan.

Every year, between Comix and the other licensed brands, FCP produces 50 different personal agenda books for a total of about 2 million copies. Comix also produces many products for school and leisure featuring the same brands. SHOP.FCPSCUOLA.IT

Comix Games

For more than ten years now, this nationwide word game competition for middle schools and high schools has provided an original approach to the Italian language, offering schools opportunities and educational experiences, at a distance as well as live, as a celebration of creativity. The competition was conceived by Comix in collaboration with the International Book Fair of Turin and Repubblica@scuola, with the participation of BPER Banca, Mondadori and the Museo Egizio of Turin. Over the years, the competition has involved about 700 schools and 70,000 students. In 2018 it won a prestigious award given by The Round Table and Federculture, winning the First Prize as the best cultural production by a business.

On concession of the Italian Ministry of Culture – Gallerie Nazionali d’Arte Antica – Palazzo Barberini

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projects and ideas

for the cultural world

Who we are

Over 30 years of history

Catalogues and Art Books

Books for Children and Teenagers

Character Design

Collaborations and partnerships

Communication

Solutions for Exhibitions and Events

Large Scale Digitization Projects

Digitization of Document Collections

Ultra-High Definition Gigapixel

Conservation and Diagnostic Services

Services for Archives Including Metadata

Platform Services

Hardware for Digital Humanities

Replicas of Works of Art

Reproduction of Manuscripts

Open Source Digital Publishing

Merchandising for Museums

Merchandising for kids