In 1896 Raffaele Roccas opened his shop specializing in paper, stationery, and school materials. Four generations have followed since at the head of the firm. At the beginning of the 20th century the shop supplied public and private bodies, military institutions and convents. The story goes that the marble used to build the monument for Vittorio Emanuele was marked with "Roccas" pencils.
In the sixties the city of Rome had thoroughly changed its set up, and while the large commercial firms were moving outwards, along the consular roads, the old Roccas stationer's moved to the adjacent and spacious premises, changing into a self-service shop, the first of its kind in Rome.
The store is today almost the same as it was, and even through subsequent renovations, furniture has always been restored. A counter of the 18th century is still in use.
Recently the firm expanded its activities both as office supplier - by introducing new marketing techniques (an annual catalogue is published) - and in the field of traditional stationery, by studying original designs for paper products as well as choosing an accurate selection of gift items (valuable pens, albums, writing sets). Up to ten thousand articles are available in this store where you can still smell the perfume of paper and graphite.