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While the Piazza Navona is a masterpiece of open space and sculpture, the Pelikan Navona is likewise an attempt at reaching a harmony of design, this time with shape and colour instead of open space and buildings. The pen itself is the by now very familiar shape of the Souverain series, in the M600 size. As with the pens in the Cities Series, a distinctive material is used by Pelikan to set this pen apart from their other offerings. The Navona begins with a cream colour base, with darker streaks running through cap and barrel. This gives the pen a "woodgrain" appearance, a colour scheme which has always been popular among pen users since the days of red and black woodgrain hard rubber. The warmer tones of the cream and light browns on the Navona make this Pelikan seem light and lively without moving too far into the realm of the staid and conservative.
Both the piston knob and section are done in basic
black. The dark ends serve as visual anchors to the overall design,
and keep the pen form looking "unfinished" visually. Usually
I prefer a section that matches the barrel in colour, but with the Pelikan
design, the reversion to black isn't as jarring to the eye as it might
be on a more streamlined pen. While we're at the front end, the Pelikan
Navona is available in the choice of three nib widths, fine, medium,
or broad. I would imagine that the other standard Pelikan sizes would
be available as nib exchange, this appears to be the same standard Pelikan
nib unit used on the M600. This would mean that your choice would extend
from extra fine through a triple broad oblique nib. Choice enough for
any hand!
Being the M600 size, the Navona is a very comfortable pen for most people. It's a bit small for my hand, but most people find it to be right in the middle of the "comfort range" for an everyday use pen. It definitely fits easily into almost any short pocket, and like most Pelikans, has a very light weight for it's size.
The Navona series is being made in both fountain pen and rollerball, as well as Pelikan's ballpoint model. Unlike some of the others in the recent Cities Series, the ballpen version features the amber woodgrain material on both the cap as well as the barrel. This is a nice touch, and adds to the looks of the ballpen version. I think that a plain black barrel would have looked too "incomplete", and not in keeping with the theme of the series. Pelikan has achieved a remarkable reputation since coming back into the high end writing instrument marketplace in the 1980s. With the launch of the Souverain series, they immediately captured the attention of those who sought classic, simple designs. Their performance won over those who were in search of the "perfect pen", Pelikan nibs have long had a reputation for being very good, and being a piston fill pen hasn't hurt the Souverain series among the traditionalist pen collector market. Given such a strong recent history, not to mention
that Pelikan has been known since 1929 for producing well made products
at reasonable prices, it's nice to see the company coming out with strong
new "special edition" series. While the exclusive ultra-high
end limited edition pens may make the headlines, it's usually the regular
production models, or in a case like this, a "special edition"
version of the regular model, that can make or break a company.
copyright 2005 William Riepl |
The
newest in what was Pelikan's Cities Series isn't a city... Instead the
Pelikan Navona celebrates the Piazza Novona in Rome, a wonderful city
square featuring as a centerpiece Bernini's most spectacular fountain,
la Fontana dei Fiumi, erected in 1651. The Piazza Navona owes its shape
to the ruins that formed it, for under the buildings that surround Piazza
Navona are the remains of the Circus Domitianus, Domitian's stadium.
This led to a long, rectangular shape for the piazza. 
Being
a piston filler, the ink capacity is plenty for regular use, and of
course, the Navona has the expected great Pelikan nib. Soft, with enough
give to leave room for enjoying the act of writing with a fountain pen.
All in all, as long as you don't mind the "smaller than an M800"
size these pens are going to make great writers.
