Italy's last pencil factory closes, ending domestic production

Italy no longer produces pencils. The last major manufacturer, FILA (Fabbrica Italiana Lapis e Affini), moved all pencil production abroad, though it still makes Das, Tratto Pen, and markers in Italy. The country's pencil industry began in 1920 with three key firms: FIM in Turin, FILA in Florence, and Presbitero in Milan. Only FILA survives as a multinational with €600 million annual revenue (2024), but its pencil lines are now made in India, Mexico, and China due to labor costs. Architect and historian Giovanni Renzi, a self-described 'lapisnauta,' has documented this history in his 2019 book 'Matite' and a forthcoming March 2026 monograph on Presbitero published by Silvana Editoriale (graphic design by Silvana Visconti). Renzi notes that the only Italian pencil still produced is Susanna Martucci's 'Perpetua,' made from brake graphite polymer, but it lacks grading and works on computers. The decline reflects broader shifts: high labor costs pushed production eastward. Meanwhile, interest in luxury stationery persists. Cartolexpo, a new trade fair, opens in Bergamo next year. Historic stationery shop Bonvini (founded 1909, reopened 2014) in Milan sources its pencils from France and Portugal. Renzi will present his Presbitero book at Bonvini on March 27, 2026, following a first stop on March 18 at IFE Atelier in Carrara.