Fabriano is a little town of the Marche in Italy, which has a long history of manufacturing paper. In fact, it was in the second half of the 13th century that the paper making process was perfected after the rudiments of its manufacture spread to the west from the Arab countries. Fabriano was the most important centre of paper production due to it being close to a port allowing it to trade with the Arab world.
There were three innovations which allowed Fabriano to become the leader in paper making. Paper watermarking allowed distincitve marks to be inserted into the paper by the manufacturer. The invention of the hammer mill allowed them to produce paper with more homogenous fibers. And the use of gelatin surface sizing which eliminated the problem of the rapid deteration of the paper.
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