“Bellissima started with Alex Trochut generously showing me a gorgeous lettering book from his grandfather’s library: Bellezas de la Caligrafía, by Ramón Stirling, 1844. Stirling was a Latin calligraphy pioneer who introduced a refined version of English calligraphy in Spain and made it popular in the nineteenth century. My intention was to veer away from Stirling’s exuberant ornamentation, and work within simplified forms of his ideas. As usually happens with my projects, Bellissima became its own bird and shaped its own flying patterns. Suddenly there were many ligatures, multiple endings and swashed connections, hundreds of alternates for both uppercase and lowercase characters. Bellissima has an effusive energy and a broad appeal. It’s intended for the modern era, when old crafty things like stationery and letterpress are appreciated, and Bellissima’s origins help it shine brightly. Bellissima Script Pro is a complete font with almost 2,000 characters full of alternates, swashes, ligatures and ornaments covering a wide palette of Latin languages.”