About Testo
Editorial
Edition 5
04.11.2025
The contemporary publishing event that every year brings to Florence books and the people who make, read and love them.
Testo is the event dedicated to contemporary publishing, bringing to Florence every year an exhibition of selected titles and new releases, together with a vibrant program of talks and workshops

In its fourth edition, in 2025, Testo welcomed over 12,000 visitors, 176 publishers and more than 200 events featuring over 300 guests from around the world. 

Over the years, Testo has hosted authors who have gone on to receive major international recognition – including László Krasznahorkai (Nobel Prize in Literature 2025),  Paul Lynch (Booker Prize 2023) and Paul Murray (European Strega Prize 2025) – as well as celebrated and emerging writers such as Niccolò Ammaniti, Alessandro Barbero, Mokhtar Amoudi, Tracy Chevalier, Jhumpa Lahiri, Layla Martinez, Guadalupe Nettel, Paolo Nori, Eshkol Nevo, Amélie Nothomb, Ron Rash, Ece Temelkuran, Emanuele Trevi and Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi. 

Organized by Pitti Immagine in collaboration with Stazione Leopolda from an idea by Todo Modo, Testo is a place of encounter and discovery: where you can buy books, meet the publishers and editors behind them, and hear from some of the most compelling voices in contemporary culture –  often before they become household names.
 
The Publishers
Testo brings together the best of Italian publishing, from major groups to independent houses. Each publisher presents a curated selection of titles, giving every book the space to be seen, discovered and appreciated.
 
The 7 Stations

An ideal journey through seven stations – each curated by a key figure in the field – traces the entire life cycle of a book: how it is written, published, translated, designed, discussed, sold and, finally, read. 
I. The Manuscript - How to write a book
 
The many styles that mirror the many reasons why we keep writing: instinct, art and craft. Successful books and hidden manuscripts. Authors, agents, writing schools, literary prizes, and the web.

— Luca Briasco, editor, translator and publisher at Minimum Fax

II. The Jacket - How to publish a book
What leads someone to become a publisher? How is a catalogue built? Starting from the observation that there are at least four types of publishing – corporate, independent, vanity and self-publishing – this section explores their common ground and their different visions.

— Andrea Gessner, publisher at Nottetempo

III. The Translation - How to translate a book
 
In Latin, legere means both ‘to read’ and ‘to choose.’ A translator reads twice: they read, and they choose – the right voice, or the most right one possible. Competence, time, responsibility, taste, and courage are the key words of a craft that is both an act of service and a creative art in its own right.

— Beatrice Masini, writer, translator and editorial manager at Bompiani

IV. The Sign - How to design a book
In an age of digital overload and visual intensity, the printed book is reborn as a medium. Design, materials, and production are once again at the center of new creative research. Through workshops and meetings with designers and artists, this station explores the physical book — from its individual parts to the finished object.

— Giovanna Silva e Chiara Carpenter, photographer and publisher of Humboldt Books, and editor of Humboldt Books, founder of Sanrocco magazine

V. The Story - How to talk about a book
How do we talk about a book? A text is told by its author during writing, by agents, publishers, editors, press offices, journalists, bloggers, booksellers, readers — even by those who haven’t read it. What remains of this web of voices and communications?

— Leonardo Luccone, founder of the literary agency Oblique

VI. The Bookshop - How to sell a book
A bookshop is not just a place where books are sold, but a catalyst for stories about books. Booksellers, professional readers and specialists of all kinds guide visitors through reading paths and discoveries.

— Maddalena Fossombroni e Pietro Torrigiani, fondatori della libreria Todo Modo

VII. The Reader - How to read a book 
The infinite reasons why we read are part of the ways we do it. Lector in fabula: interpretive cooperation and the influence of the market. Literature in cinema, on TV, in graphic novels, video games and web series.

— Riccardo Ventrella, head of international relations at Fondazione Teatro della Toscana

Queste sette tappe costituiscono la guida attraverso cui Testo presenterà al pubblico un’accurata selezione di titoli e laboratori ideati dai Capistazione in collaborazione con le case editrici e il coordinamento di Pitti Immagine. Romanzi, saggi, mestieri e protagonisti dell’editoria verranno raccontati in maniera originale e coinvolgente, per voce degli autori, dei critici, giornalisti, librai e altri professionisti del mondo del libro.
The Workshops
By reservation
 
Seminars and workshops to learn and experience firsthand the crafts of the book world, led in past editions by some of the most authoritative figures in international publishing, including:

Guy Meldem of Maximage (book design and visual identity), Sebastian Budgen of Verso Books (radical publishing), illustrator and artist Lorenzo Mattotti, comedian and writer Saverio Raimondo (comic writing), type designer Luciano Perondi (typography and legibility), and many others.
 
Guided Tours
By reservation
An interactive way to explore Testo from new perspectives: exceptional guides – from librarians to influencers, from booksellers to literary critics and authors – lead the public through personalized itineraries across seven publishers and seven books, each following a theme, a thread, an intuition or a passion, tracing a new literary map every time.