Santini Italia Slays the Giant

With the new No. 8 Giant nib, this artisanal Italian pen company is making its largest mark yet.

- NICKY PESSAROFF

There are few cities more important to the legacy of fine writing instruments than Turin, Italy, the ancestral home of Italian pen making. What's more, Turin has maintained its dominant place in Italian pen making, the home of both large and artisanal manufacturers. Giovanni Santini is one of Turin's native sons, and his brand, Santini Italia, continues Turin's tradition of completely house-made Italian writing instruments.

First a pen shop owner and restorer, Santini began his career in pen making in 1998 when he acquired the rights to the historical Italian pen brand Ancora, originally founded in 1919 by Giuseppe Zanini. The story of the Ancora brand name is its own saga, but the important thing is this: when Santini changed his company's name to Santini Italia, it liberated him to find his own path in pen making. Twenty-six years on, Santini is still pushing the limits of what he and his company do.

So, what makes Santini Italia such a different artisanal brand?

"Our knowledge," says Santini. "It ranges from the creation of molds for clips and pen turning using the latest-generation machines and tools, but above all, the development of the writing parts."

The last time PW featured Santini Italia, in 2017, the pens used house-made cartridge/converter-filling systems and nibs, but there were no plans for a regular-edition piston-filling system or further nib offerings. Much can change in six years.

"In recent years, we have grown significantly, and we have made investments to increase production and quality," Santini says. "We have taken steps to go from an artisan workshop to a full factory that maintains its own production and great attention to craftsmanship."