During his fellowship at the Spanish Academy in Rome, the archaeologist Tono Vizcaíno developed a research on the contemporary reception of the classical past. Its aim is to analyze the new languages generated by the confluence of Archeology and mass culture in the 21st century Rome.
This intersection serves as the foundation of the book’s design concept, blending ancient with contemporary inspired elements to create this contrast that defines its identity.
The book 16:9 format, like the standard mobile proportions, reflects how we perceive the world today; the embossing of a marble jpg, distorted by an internet-sharing error, adds a feeling of pixelated rocky surface; a typeface that merges classical elegance with a contemporary edge evokes a grandiloquent yet unmistakably Roman aesthetic; and the inner page layouts draw inspiration from romantic old-fashioned designs with a brutalist twist.
Design practice – Editorial design
Author – Tono Vizcaíno
Client – Real Academia de España en Roma
Context – Cultural
Year – 2025
