Cairoli Now
Zetafonts · Cosimo Lorenzo Pancini, Mario De Libero · 2020
A 2020 revival of the 1928 Nebiolo grotesque Cairoli, expanded into a superfamily with a contemporary Now branch and a faithful Classic branch, each available across three widths and seven weights.
About
Originally cast by Italian foundry Nebiolo as a license of Wagner & Schmidt's Neue moderne Grotesk, Cairoli predated the grotesque superfamily format by decades. The Now branch raises the x-height for text and digital use, adds inktraps and round punctuation, and slightly softens the curves, while the Classic branch preserves the original low x-height and display character, including hook cuts in curved letters, the high-waisted R and squared ovals. The full family runs to 84 static styles plus four variable fonts covering weight and width axes, with OpenType features and coverage of over 200 Latin-script languages.
Classification
A revival of the 1928 Nebiolo grotesque Cairoli, itself a license of Wagner & Schmidt's Neue moderne Grotesk, placing it firmly in the nineteenth-century grotesque tradition alongside Akzidenz-Grotesk and Aurora.