Storie Italiane

Context

Storie Italiane encloses more than twenty years of work by Andrea Vierucci, a Tuscany-based photographer specialized in interiors, houses and architecture — doubling as the catalog for a traveling photographic exhibition and as his first monograph.

The places in the book aren’t linked by any particular architetural style, period or location: no chapters, no sections, nothing but the author’s own narrative order tying together a life-long tale of Italian high-level interior design. The layout had to present interiors as different from each other as they come while still letting them talk to each other — balancing color, light and perspective into one rhythmic, cohesive narration, and revealing the intimate relationship between the groups of shots within each interior.

The book

A bodonian binding lets the book open completely flat, so every image is enjoyed at full size. The catalog is split into two parts: the first, introducing the tale through three essays, is set on grey paper and printed in black and silver ink to visually separate it from the photographic tale itself; the second lets readers dive into an uninterrupted 80-page journey of Vierucci’s photography. The cover, in a striking purple with the title and author’s name embossed, is a hermetic solution that elegantly hides a collection of sumptuous interior pictures until it’s opened.

The layout runs on a 10-column grid with just one horizontal guide, which sets page numbers and captions to a standard position — pictures are never forced to change their ratio under a rigid grid or fixed spaces. Every image is positioned, sized and aligned to talk harmoniously with the ones around it.

Execution details

The book is set in Neue Haas Grotesk by Monotype, with headings in Beatrice Display Medium by Sharp Type. Printed by Bandecchi & Vivaldi: the essay section on Fedrigoni Sirio Perla 140g/m² (2/2, black and silver), the photographic section on Fedrigoni Tatami White 135g/m² (4/4).